A Christmas with The Scully Clan
by Government Patsy
Summary: Mulder and Scully spend Chritmas with Charlie and the rest of the Scully clan. Bill, however, is still not happy with Dana's choice in partner. An x-file appears in chapter 7. Takes place after IWTB. Lots of MSR!
1. A knock on the door

Chapter 1 - A knock on the door

It was another doll Saturday in Virginia. The landscape was covered in snow. Mulder and Scully was not going to do anything that day – or at least they were not aware of it yet. They had just finished their breakfast in silence. It had been a late night for Scully at the hospital and Mulder had been asleep for at least a couple of hours, when he had felt her crawl under the covers and into their warm bed in the middle of the night. He had wanted to hold her close to him, as she had been working a long shift, and he had not seen her for what seemed like days, but at the time he had turned to face her, she already slept herself, and he settled with kissing her forehead. Scully was always tired after working long shifts at the hospital, and Mulder knew she liked the silence when she came home, after all the noise still in her head from work.

"I think I am going to take a shower, Mulder", Scully said winking her eyes at him.

"Oh, really", Mulder replied with enthusiasm in his voice. He knew all too well what that wink meant and followed Scully as a happy little pup, as she almost ran into the bathroom.

After their shower, they decided not to leave the house the whole day, and Scully wore nothing but her underwear and one of Mulder's old sweatshirts, while Mulder was wearing a regular white t-shirt and his grey boxers. As they were half lying half sitting on the couch in the living room, they cuddled while watching 'War of the Worlds'. Not more than a half hour into the film Mulder muted the TV, and carefully pressed his weight against Scully kissing her. She tugged her leg in under him, placing him between her legs. He lifted her up a bit, letting her head rest on a pillow from the couch. He pulled back from their long kiss. He looked at her, admiring her beautiful blue eyes.

"Damn, you´re beautiful", he said with the deepest honesty in his shivering but determined voice.

She giggled and blushed slightly, as she did every single time he complimented her. This was one of the wonderful things he did to her, that no one else ever had been able to do. Not with that much conviction and sincerity at least. She pulled him close to her once again, placing a hand on his neck. Just as Mulder had led his hand slide up under Scully's shirt a knock sounded at the door. They tried to ignore the knocks, thinking it was nothing more than a salesman.

"You better get that, Mulder, or else they'll never stop", Scully finally said, making Mulder sigh annoyed.

"Yeah, yeah – I'm coming, I'm coming", Mulder called out, as he made his way towards the door, leaving Scully with a small smile on her lips.

Her smile however disappeared, when she heard the familiar voice by the door.

"Hello Fox, I hope I'm not interrupting anything", said the voice, which belonged to Maggie Scully.

"No! Mrs. Scully… what are you doing here?" Mulder asked. Scully could here in his voice, that he was ashamed of opening the door in his tight boxers.

"Well, I thought Dana had told you. We were all supposed to fly out together and spend Christmas in Texas with Charles", Maggie said confused.

"Sorry, Mrs. Scully. We've completely forgot that. It's been a hard week at work for Dana, and you know me. I forget as soon as I'm told", Mulder excused for him and Scully.

"That's alright, Fox. I'll just wait with Bill and the family in the car while you get packed", Maggie replied laughing and understanding.

As soon as Mulder had turned around after closing the door, Scully was already heading for the bedroom to pack for the two of them. How could she have forgot, they were going for her youngest brother's house for a week and spend Christmas there. She had almost forgotten just how close they actually were from Christmas, with all the work she had had. Mulder feared she was angry with him, but realized she was only feeling guilty for not remembering and embarrassed, that her mother had practically walked in on them.

"Should I pack my own bag?" Mulder asked, nervous of getting in the way.

"If you find clothes for us to wear now, I'll pack our bags", she said strict, but friendly.

Mulder did as he was told, and they were packed and ready to go in less than 10 minutes. FBI training the both of them thought, as they walked out the door, Mulder locking up after them.

The second he looked towards the minivan he could see Bill with an unusual annoyed expression, even for him. He knew Bill had never liked him, and truth be told, he didn't care much for him either, but he did try to be polite, because he knew it would please Scully if they got along.

They sat in the back of the minivan, while Maggie and Matt sat in the middle, leaving Tara in the passenger seat next to Bill. Scully excused for them as soon as she got into the car, while Mulder knew not to say anything, with Bill in a mood like the one he was in.

The drive from Mulder and Scully's residence and to the airport, took approximately an hour. Mulder was afraid of saying anything, and only spoke when Maggie or Tara asked him about something, and when he whispered the occasionally word or two to Scully.

"Do you think he will talk to me at all this week?" he whispered worried at Scully.

"He is always cranky in the morning – it will pass around noon", she whispered back, trying to calm him down.

"I love you", Mulder said softly kissing her cheek. Scully didn't expect this and she blushed a bit. Mulder decided not to respond to the fact that the 10 year old Matt hat heard his words and the sound of a peck on Scully's cheek. Matt giggled for himself for a few seconds, not being used to his father kissing his mother in public. He had only seen them kiss one time, and it had been a bit awkward due to the fact that Bill had been drunk, and Tara had been so ashamed she didn't speak to Bill for two days. It had been in front of all of their friends and coworkers at the annual Scully BBQ. Nobody had ever brought it up since. He would like to tell this to his uncle Mulder, knowing Bill didn't approve of him, and that Mulder had tried so hard to be a member of the Scully clan. Matt had always liked Mulder and couldn't see what his father could possibly have against him. He seemed to love Aunt Dana and she seemed to love him. Everyone else in the family liked him. Grandma even thought of him as her third son – he had heard her say so to Bill once she tried to convince him into liking Mulder.

The flight went great, but there were a lot of people on the plane and in the airports because of Christmas. Scully fast remembered it had been a long time since Mulder had even been in a public place like this, let alone during a holiday season. She grabbed his hand quickly as soon as they walked into the airport in Virginia, and only let go when it was absolutely necessary. He appreciated this gesture, and told her by squeezing her and when he felt it grab a hold of his.

At the airport in Houston, Charlie stood waiting for them. Mulder shook his hand as he walked up to him, knowing this man was a friendly spirit. He had only met him a few times, as it had been hard for them to keep in touch with Scully's family, when he was wanted by the FBI. They had never even told them where they lived before, afraid someone might find out. They had been right taken this precaution, as Bill had often thought he would have told the bureau and he wouldn't have thought twice about doing so, even though it would mean death for Mulder.

When they arrived at Charles Scully's residence, Jill, Charlie's wife, and his three children; Naomi, Nick and Chris were all standing in the door handing out hugs and kisses for their loved family members. Nick and Chris were twins, and only a few years older than Matt, so it didn't take them long to bond, and head for their room to play some videogame. Naomi, on the other hand, was 16. A difficult age, especially if there is no one to hang out with. Mulder was surprised to see how high this sixteen year old still cherished her grandmother. Her eyes lit up, when she saw Maggie and she spend the rest of the day with her, sitting next to her at the table at dinner and following her to her room, when she was tired from the flight and wanted to head early to bed. As she came down she announced she was tired herself, and after saying goodnight to all, she turned in herself.

Not too long after, Charlie and Bill were sitting by a table in the living room, while Mulder and Scully sat on a couch in the other end of the room, facing Tara and Jill, who sat on another couch.

"We better go tell the boys to go to sleep. It's almost ten o'clock!" Tara said to Jill.

"Really, already!" she answered truly astonished at how fast the time had gone by.

As they both headed down to the basement, where the boys' room where, Scully whispered softly in Mulder's ear:

"Do you want to head to bed too, and finish what we started this morning?"

Mulder realized that Bill had seen Scully whispering teasing in Mulder's ear and the sparkle in Mulder's green eyes as she did. First Mulder tried to hide it, but then de decided to prank Bill, and put a hand on Scully's thigh, while kissing her passionate. They kissed for almost a minute, and when they got up to say goodnight to Scully's brothers, and head for the bed in the spare bedroom upstairs, Mulder could see Bill's eyes full of hatred towards him.

"Why do you act that way towards Mulder, Bill? It isn't very civilized, you know?" Charlie said to Bill a few moments after his sister and Mulder had left the room.

"He is bad news, Charlie! I can't believe that none of you are able to see that", Bill answered his younger brother in a strict tone.

"He makes her happy, and he loves her. There is nothing bad about him, Bill", Charlie said annoyed with his brother's narrow-mind.

"I swear, Charlie, when this holiday is over, they won't be together anymore. I'll make her realize what a loser that man is", Bill said in a self-confident voice, that scared his little brother.

Charlie was afraid of what Bill was capable of doing, to get Dana to realize, what he thought to be the truth. He liked Mulder and was definitely going to warn him about Bill in the morning. Not just because it was the right thing to do, but also because he liked Mulder a whole lot. And knew how much he meant to both Dana and Maggie.


	2. Dana dandruff

Chapter 2 - Dana-dandruff

When Naomi passed her aunt's room late at night she could clearly hear what was going on in there. She stood a few seconds by the door, out of pure curiosity. Then she realized it was a bit creepy to ears drop on someone who was doing it. She knew it was a childish expression; Doing it, but it was what everybody in school called it. She hurried into the bathroom to do, what she was gotten up to do. She took her time out there. At one point she even fell asleep and slpet a half hour. When she headed back for her room again, she slowed the paste down a bit walking past Mulder and Scully's room. They were still ad it. She thought to herself, that Uncle Bill probably could hear them, due to the fact that he and Aunt Tara slept in the room right next to theirs. As she went to sleep she giggled, seeing the expression on her Uncle's face, as she imagined it, when he had been waking up to the sound of the man he loathed more than anyone and anything in the world making love to his baby sister. She felt for him a second, but then she remembered how her grandmother loved Mulder, and decided that it sure was Uncle Bill, who was the bad guy.

"So did you sleep alright?" Mulder was asked the second he walked into the kitchen the next morning. As he remembered Tara had slept in the room next to his and Scully's he blushed.

"Yeah... uhm… I slept fine! And you?" he tried to hide his blushing cheeks by looking down facing floor.

"Sure", Tara answered with a grin on her face.

Now Bill entered the room. Mulder could feel him being colder to him than he ever had been before. This scared Mulder him a bit, but he thought he probably would have felt the same way if he had heard someone make love to his baby sister for hours. And then just, when you think it's finally over, and you're just about to go to sleep, it starts all over again.

"What on earth, have you done to your face, Fox?" Maggie asked entering the kitchen.

"What?" Mulder asked confused, trying to rub something off, that wasn't there away.

"You have a bruise on your forehead", Maggie said concerned.

"Oh… uhm… I just ehh… well I don't know", Mulder said confused, as he remembered falling out of bed doing the hot séance last night.

"I'm going to wake up Dana", he fast excused himself, as he saw Bill's eyes full of hatred and rage towards him.

"Him and Dana didn't get much sleep last night", Tara said addressing Maggie, after Mulder had left, seeing the worried look on her mother-in-law's face. This made Maggie giggle and shook her head, but Bill didn't seem too happy with this whole situation.

"Would you please not talk about my sister that way, when I'm present?" Bill asked furious at Tara.

"Relax, Bill! And don't you raise your voice at your wife ever again", Maggie interrupted strictly.

"Sorry, mother - sorry, Tara", Bill said as the well-behaved man he could be, when Fox Mulder wasn't in sight.

* * *

"Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead", Mulder said as he tickled Scully.

"No, Mulder!" she answered into the pillow while she tried to push him away.

"Come on, Scully! Your brother is giving me his evilest of evil eyes! You need to protect me", he said sounding all vulnerable, which made Scully smile into her pillow.

"You're a big boy, Mulder! You can protect yourself", she said trying to sound indifferent.

"But I need you, Scully", he wined, making Scully change her focus from the pillow and to his puppy-eyes.

"Would you, please, stop whining, Mulder! You can't expect me to be fit as a fiddle, after not having slept all night". She blushed when she saw the self-satisfied look on Mulder's face, and turned her head back into the pillow.

Mulder didn't want to be alone with Scully's family without her, so he spooned into the bed with her, making her sigh peacefully. Neither of them slept, but they kept lying there for another half hour, before were brought back to reality by Charlie.

"Not disturbing, am I?" he asked soft.

"No! Of course not", Mulder said getting up quickly.

"There's breakfast in a few minutes – I just wanted to let you know", he said looking at Scully, who were now beginning to open her eyes.

"You know, beauty sleep doesn't work on women your age, don't you, Dana?" he asked in jest, taking Mulder by a surprise.

"Shut up, Charlie", she just answered and threw Mulder's pillow after him, with the result of breaking the picture hanging by the door. Mulder's eyed opened wide, and he was shocked with this brother/sister-fight he was about to witness.

"Now look what you did, _Dana-dandruff"_, Charlie said, running out the door, the same second the words had left his mouth.

And with good reason, because Scully got up from bed in less than a nanosecond running after her younger brother, only wearing Mulder's shirt and black panties. Not quite understanding what had happened Mulder walked out into the hallway, where he met Naomi.

"What's going on?" she asked him sounding puzzled.

"Your Aunt just broke a picture and ran after your father for calling her _Dana-dandruff"_, Mulder said sounding even more puzzled. This however made Naomi laugh and she tried to explain it to Mulder.

"It's something dad used to call Aunt Dana, as a nickname, because she teased him once he was sick, and couldn't play outside in the snow with the others. When she came in she had snow in her hair, and he began to call her _Dana-dandruff, _however she didn't seem to mind very much, when it was just dad calling her it_._ Then one day in school, short after, dad decided to get even with her, and he stayed up all night, cutting a piece of paper into a billion tiny pieces. And then he poured them out into her hair, in the middle of the hallway during recess, just as the guy she had the biggest crush on was about to walk by. Then my dad said; 'You should have washed your hair, this morning, Dana', and everybody stopped up to laugh at her, and she didn't get rid of the nickname until she was a grown-up".

Mulder exploded with laughter, and this made Naomi laugh even harder. As they walked downstairs they could clearly hear Maggie Scully trying to settle her two youngest kids down. This however did not succeed as planned, and Mulder was faced with a picture of a Scully with a skin tone that matched her hair, chasing Charlie through the living room, knocking him down just before he escaped the room. Then she sat on top of him, holding his hands down to the floor just over his head.

"Now say it!" she ordered her brother.

"Say it or I'll make you regret ever being born!" she added, making Charlie surrender.

"I, Charlie Scully, love my sister more than anything, and I find her hair beautiful and glossy", he said closing his eyes.

"Now, that wasn't so hard was it", she said as she got up from the floor.

"Do you two never grow up?" Maggie asked rhetorically.

"You know we don't", Charlie said, as he kissed his mother's cheek, and triggered an eye rolling smile from Maggie.

Soon they were all seated by the table in the dining-room. Mulder sat next to Charlie and Scully, while Bill sat in the other end of the table. Mulder and Charlie had been talking almost the whole time, when Charlie remembered what he had promised himself to tell Mulder.

"You better take your precautions this week, Mulder! Bill said something to me last night that made me think he has some kind of plans of ruining yours and Dana's relationship", Charlie said in a voice so low only Mulder could hear it.

"Do you really think he was serious?" Mulder asked surprised and concerned with what Bill might do.

"I think he is going to have a shot at it – but just how far he will go, beats me", Charlie said honest.

This made Mulder think. What could he have planned to do to Mulder? He looked down at Bill, who was eating his breakfast quiet. He sure looked like a man thinking deeply about something. But if it was a war this man wanted, Mulder was going to give it to him. He wouldn't make it easy for this man to ruin him - Scully's family or not - that was for sure.


	3. The Plan

Chapter 3 - The Plan

Bill decided to go for a walk after breakfast. He was tired of _all_ the people he had to deal with _all_ the time. He needed to be alone for a few minutes. It was very rare Bill felt like this, but sometimes he just needed to clear his head in order to function. He thought of himself as a very tolerant person, but whenever he was around that Fox Mulder something just came over him. He knew it couldn't be his own fault so he blamed Mulder. Now he just had to come up with a brilliant plan in order to get rid of him, and have him out of their lives. And away from his family. But how? That was the only thing he hadn't figured out yet. He needed Dana to resent Mulder as much as he did. He tried to remember all the things Tara hated about him, and what Dana didn't like about Mulder? As he walked down the street and saw the arguing couple on the other side of the road he knew just what he was going to do.

Mulder noticed that Bill seemed a bit too happy when he came back from his walk. He knew instantly it had something to do with him. But what was it? What was Bill's plan, and what should he do to protect himself from it?

"Hi, Mulder! How are you today?" Bill asked, almost sounding honest.

"I'm fine Bill. And you?" Mulder played along. Whatever he was up to, Mulder would find out.

"Yeah, me too! I know I've been a bit cranky, but it's nothing personally! You know that right?" Bill asked, and took Mulder totally by surprise. Scully stood with her back against them and was talking to Charlie, but she had heard every word Bill and Mulder had spoken.

"Yeah sure, Bill. It's okay. I know you're just being protective of your younger sister", Mulder said not meaning a word that came out his mouth. Bill was more than simply protective. He was downright mean and vicious towards Mulder. Always had be, and he wouldn't change this behavior due to a walk. It would need an epiphany for Bill to accept Mulder.

"Thanks for understanding, Mulder", Bill said as he headed towards the kitchen.

Scully walked over to Mulder. She caressed his arm, which made him change his focus from Bill, who was talking to Maggie in the kitchen, and to Scully's bright blue eyes.

"See Mulder I told you he would come around to the idea of you and I being together", Scully whispered softly to Mulder, as she kept on caressing his arm.

"I don't know, Scully", Mulder said hesitating.

"But I heard what you guys just said, Mulder. He's obviously…" Scully tried to calm him down, as she could see in his eyes, that he was upset

"It's just an act, Scully!" Mulder interrupted her.

"He doesn't like me – he's up to something" he said, while Scully began to shake her head.

"You're just being paranoid, Mulder. He's not conspiracing against you", Scully said. She had now stopped caressing his arm, and was holding on to his shirt with a firm grip.

"But…" Mulder tried to explain.

"No buts, Mulder. Stop this right now! I don't want to go through this with you, when we're here with my family!" she spoke harsh but still in a whisperer. Mulder looked away from her and sighed, thinking they had been through this one too many times. He didn't want to embarrass her in front of her family - that was not what he was trying to do. He was trying not to let anyone come between them. He wanted more than anything in the world for them to be together as they finally were now.

"I'm sorry, Scully", he sighed.

"I'll try to forget it", he said honest, knowing it would be hard. Scully was a bit surprised she didn't have to do more than this to convince him. Back when they had worked together, she was never able to. Not even when she had tried to convince him to let go of the case about the psychic father Joe, not too long ago. She was wondering what had changed since.

"Thanks, Mulder. It means a lot to me, you know?" she said beginning to caress his arm once again.

"Yeah, Scully! I know", he answered bending down and pressing a soft kiss on her lips.

"Get a room", Charlie whispered at them as he walked by and into the kitchen.

"Shut up, Charlie", Scully said not looking at him, but directly into Mulder's eyes. They told her everything she needed to know. She could tell whether he was telling the truth in these deep eyes of his. She knew he wasn't convinced about the whole Bill-thing, but she also knew he wasn't going to do anything ill-considered about it.

* * *

Mulder and Scully sat down in one of the couches in the living-room. They were alone in there, because all the others were to busy to notice they weren't doing anything to help preparing supper. They hadn't done anything the whole day, but no one seemed to care much. Bill and Charlie were setting the table. The rest of the women were preparing dinner in the kitchen while talking loudly and laughing. The boys were playing in the garden, which they had done the most of the too. Scully told Mulder memories about her childhood - especially about Melissa. Mulder also told a few of the happy memories he still had about Samantha. They laughed of these memories as they sat in the couch, Scully with Mulder's one arm around her and the other one holding her hands in her lap. They were quiet for a little while. Then Scully sat up straight with a sudden movement, which made Mulder jump, and she looked him directly into his beautiful green eyes.

"Jesus, Scully? What is it?" he asked a bit startled.

"I love you" she said without hesitation nor doubt in her voice. This made Mulder smile widely and he took Scully in a loving embrace.

"God, I love you too, woman", he said with his arms around her and his head buried in her red, good smelling hair. Their lips met. It started it out as gentle kiss, but it soon developed into something much more passionate. He pulled back for a while.

"We need to eat in a minute", he said very matter-of-factly. And then they kissed again. She lay down on the couch and pulled him down with her. He started kissing her neck and she showed her appreciation by starting to unbutton his shirt.

"Scully!" he said shocked and out of breath from the heavy snuggling. She laughed at him and pulled him in for another kiss, when they heard footsteps out in the hall getting closer to them. They sat up in a hurry, and when Maggie came in she couldn't help but laugh at them, as they sat on the couch with blushed cheeks inches apart as if they were two teenagers getting caught.

"Dinner is ready, you two", she said still laughing.

At the dinner table there was the usually buzz. People were talking and laughing. Even Bill had joined an conversation. Mulder, however, was still embarrassed. Scully didn't seem to mind. Now she even let her hand slide up Mulder's thigh, making him fight an erection, because he still was turned on from the kissing on the couch. He tried to look away from Scully, and to his right, but just met Charlie's winking eye. Then he decided to just enjoy it. Scully hadn't been this fund of him since they just started sleeping with one another. Scully could feel Mulder was tensed, and wanted him to relax. As she had run her hand up and down his inner thigh a few minutes she clearly felt a bump in his trousers. This made her giggle, but fortunately for Mulder only he heard her.

After dinner Mulder and Scully volunteered to do the dishes, seeing they hadn't helped with anything. When they finally ware alone in the kitchen Scully giggled again.

"You think it's funny, do you?" he asked in a serious tone.

"No, I'm sorry, Mulder", she said trying to sound serious herself.

"I'm so embarrassed, Scully", he stated looking down at the plate he was drying.

"I think you're cute", she said starting to giggle again.

He couldn't stop laughing himself. Scully's laughter always worked contagious on him. Just as they were having fun Bill walked into the kitchen. They didn't see him coming, so they just talked as if he weren't there. His plan definitely wasn't working yet!

"So? You two got left with the dirty dishes, huh?" he asked making both Mulder and Scully jump.

"Oh, Bill! I didn't hear you enter", Scully said looking at Mulder, who were keeping his focus on the plate in his hand.

"That's okay, Dana. I just wanted to hear Mulder here if he wanted to play poker with Charlie and me", Bill asked sounding friendly. Mulder didn't buy it, but knew Scully would want him to accept.

"Yeah, thanks! That sounds like fun", he answered just as friendly, but thought to himself *I'm going to win this little game of yours*. And he was not thinking about the poker-game.

While the men played poker, Mulder almost forgot that Bill was mean. He really enjoyed himself with Scully's brothers. He was surprised at how long it had been since he had spent time in the company of other men, and he liked it. Mulder looked down at the women, who sat in the two couches, in the other end of the room. He saw Scully was giggling, and he was so glad he had agreed to spend the holiday with her family. He hadn't really wanted to, but knew it meant a lot to his partner, and hadn't let her know that. He watched her as she spoke to Naomi and slowly removed some hair out of her face.

"Mulder, it's your turn", Charlie said for the third time finally getting Mulder's attention.

"Oh, sorry", he said and raised with five chips.

"Enjoying the view, are we?" Charlie asked teasing. Mulder laughed, but saw the expression in Bill's eyes he had got to know very well.

* * *

"I tell you, Scully! He was looking at me like he wanted to kill me", Mulder tried to explain to Scully in the spare bedroom, as where getting ready to go to sleep.

"He has been nice to you the whole day, Mulder! You just don't like him", she said almost yelling at Mulder.

"He is up to something, Scully. I know he is. I don't know why he is acting all innocent", Mulder said to make it clear to Scully.

"Oh my God, Mulder! Can't we just for once in our life live have a nice Christmas?" Scully was pissed now.

"What do you mean, Scully?" Mulder's voice broke as he spoke.

"I haven't spend Christmas with my family in 5 years, and when we finally are here, someone has to be conspiracing against you. And my brother of all people!"

Bill could hear the raised voices when he walked past Mulder and Scully's room. *Finally, my plan is working*, he thought with a smirk on his face.


	4. Bad dreams

Chapter 4 - Bad dreams

Mulder couldn't sleep. He never could after having an argument with Scully. She used to make him sleep on the couch at home, if she was angry with him, but this time she had no choice, but to let him sleep next to her. She had her back turned against him and had fallen asleep several minutes ago. Mulder's heart was literally aching. He hated hurting the one person he loved the most. But he had needed to tell her what he was thinking. Bill was up to something and he just wanted Scully to know. But of course she had taken her brother's side. He was, after all, her family – and Mulder wasn't.

After hours of thinking and trying to fall asleep, Mulder finally succeeded. But he hadn't slept very long, when he was woken up by the sobs coming from Scully. First he didn't know what to do. Was she crying because of him? He had never made her cry before.

"I'm so sorry, Scully", he said laying a hand on her shoulder. "I won't say another word about Bill, ever again!"

"It's not your fault I'm crying, Mulder", she said as she rolled over on her back and faced Mulder, as she took the hand resting on her shoulder.

"Then what is it, Scully?" he asked as he rested on one of his arms, while he wiped the tears away from her cheeks with the other one.

"Just a bad dream", she answered as she tried to look away from his gaze. Even though she couldn't see his eyes in the dark, she couldn't look directly at them, while lying.

"That time a year, huh?" he asked, knowing very well what the matter was.

She didn't answer him. She didn't have to. She just pulled him close to her and cried on his shoulder till his grey t-shirt actually clung to his skin. As she was calming down and lay comfortably in his arms, he whispered softly in her ear:

"I miss him too, Scully. I miss him too".

* * *

The next morning Scully woke up in Mulder's arms. She was feeling safe, but still sad. She had thought spending the holidays with her family, would have cured her Christmas-blues. This time of year always made her have dreams about William, and therefore think about him, and therefore cry. The pain she still felt was unbearable, and if it wasn't for Mulder she didn't know how she would have gotten through the years. He was always there for her, even after that fight they had had. She loved him for that. She didn't want to think about the fight anymore. She needed him too much to think about that.

Now he was slowly waking up. He began to move beside her. She liked seeing him awake. As she looked up at his face, she found him still sleeping, but his eyes began to open. First he looked up in the ceiling. Then he realized he was being watched, so he turned his eyes towards Scully.

"Morning, sunshine", she said smiling towards him. He couldn't help, but smile back at her.

"Morning. Are you feeling better", he answered her a bit concerned.

"A lot!" she assured him. It was true. She did feel a lot better than last night. Of course she was still sad, but it was nothing compared to how she had felt, when Mulder tried to comfort her.

"That's good!" he stated, as he moved his eyes back towards the ceiling.

"You wanna get up, and get some breakfast? Maggie promised to make pancakes for the kids. Sure there's some for us to – if we hurry!" Mulder said.

"It's only 8. The kids aren't up yet!" she answered.

"Oh… then maybe we could help Maggie make pancakes." Mulder said eager to do something with Scully's family, to show her he cared.

"You really want to make breakfast? Well that's new!" Scully said surprised and in irony.

"Pancakes are my specialty", he joked.

"Then let's get it on, G-man", she still called him that even though actually wasn't one anymore. He didn't mind – actually it made him feel good, and Scully knew this.

When they came down to the kitchen only Maggie was up. She had only taken the eggs out the fridge.

"Morning. Need some help there? Mulder is very eager to help you cook", Scully greeted her mother.

"That would be very nice", she said as she laughed.

"I must be honest with you Mrs. Scully – I'm not that good in a kitchen, but I am a fast learner", he laughed back.

"Come on, Fox, no worries. Pancakes are easy. And you can call me Maggie", she stated as she pulled Mulder towards the kitchen counters by his wrist.

"Good luck!" Scully said in a sarcastic voice as she left the room.

"You aren't staying?" Mulder asked a bit disappointed.

"I thought I would take a quick shower before everybody gets up", she answered him in an explaining voice.

"That can wait, Dana! Come on, we're going to use the funny shapes", Maggie tried to convince Scully, like she was a ten year old.

"Yeah, Scully! I'm sure there's even little heart shapes", Mulder teased.

"Alright, you two! I'll stay!" Scully gave in.

* * *

Bill woke up 8.30, and thought the world was a beautiful place. He was really happy. He thought to himself how he had been smart enough to turn Dana and Mulder against each other. He knew how Tara hated it, when he talked about the evil mind of Fox Mulder, so he figured Dana would feel the same way, if Mulder talked about himself in the same way. At the same time he knew that Mulder never would think that Bill liked him, even if he was as nice to him as he could be. He knew he would be able to see the hate in his eyes and hear it in his voice, even though nobody else could. His plan was brilliant, and due to the argument he had heard last night, he didn't think it would be much longer until she got tired of him and his BS.

However, when Bill entered the kitchen he was caught off guard. He had never thought they would be so happy. He hadn't even thought they would want to be in the same room, let alone be laughing and throwing flower after each other, when his mother wasn't looking. These people certainly were different than him and his wife.

"Good morning, Bill", Maggie greeted.

"Good morning. So what are you making?" he asked.

"We're making pancakes for the kids. I accidentally promised it to them last night", Maggie said as she giggled.

"Smells good. I better go wake the kids then", he said and left the room.

As he left Scully looked at Mulder and smiled to show him she wasn't angry anymore. *Thanks* he mouthed her, and she blinked at him in return.

"Oh my God!" Maggie exclaimed, and made both Mulder and Scully jump.

"What is it?" Scully asked worried.

"Why on earth are you covered in flower", she asked seriously, however this made Mulder and Scully laugh so hard their eyes literally watered.

They were happy right now, and Scully enjoyed. Mulder enjoyed seeing Scully happy, and he was glad they spent Christmas with the rest of the Scully clan. He sure could do without Bill, but the rest of them he had really grown to love. He had known Maggie the longest, and even though she was a lot older now, and her hair was almost completely grey, he still couldn't help but see her like she was, the day Scully was returned after her abduction and her long coma. Never had he seen her happier. And he couldn't help to think about, that Scully looked a bit like the 'Maggie who had just got her daughter back', the day she had shown Mulder William. She too had looked so content and careless. Like if nothing evil could ever make it through to them. He remembered that he wanted to be a part of that, and he had been as his lips met Scully's in their first kiss, as something more than friends – even something more than lovers. They were parents. They still were, even if William couldn't be with them. He had never been angry at Scully for giving him up. He was only angry at himself for not being able to help her with the baby. He knew that if he hadn't left she wouldn't have needed to give him up. On the other hand they might all three be dead. He couldn't know. His thought often went on and on like this. He had had a lot of time to think, when he had been wanted by the Bureau, and had to keep in hide.

"What are thinking about, Mulder? You have hardly eaten any of your heart shaped pancakes!" Scully asked him when they were eating their pancakes. They had to eat the ones shaped like hearts, because the boys wanted those shaped like footballs.

"Oh, it's nothing, Scully! I just got lost in my thoughts, that's all", he said and giggled.

"Don't you think too much, Mulder! That usually leads to trouble!" Scully joked on a warning tone.

"I've never lead you in trouble, Scully", Mulder joked back pretending to be hurt.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mulder. I know I'm the one who has led us into trouble so many times, I can't even count it. It was me who wanted to pursue all those weird mutants, which all tried to kill us. It was me who once pretended to be the deputy director of the FBI and it was me who once even assaulted an assistant director. I'm so sorry, Mulder! Can you ever forgive me?" she kept on.

"Well now, I'm not so innocent myself. Remember the time I shot my own partner! Or that time in medical school when I had an affair with that married…" that was all Mulder got to say, before Scully had hit him hard on his upper arm.

"Don't talk about that, Mulder! You're the only one I've ever told!" she reminded him seriously, but he just laughed. She couldn't help but laugh too.

"Oh, Scully!" he said out of breath.

"If you mention it again I _will_ make you regret it!" she warned him.

"Really? Like you made Charlie regret yesterday? 'Cause I don't think it would work on me. Actually I thought that was pretty _hot_", he said teasing.

"You did, huh? Well then I'll just have to think on some other way to punish you. And be sure I'll figure out a way, Mulder", she said.

"I can't wait!" he said as he lifted his eyebrows, and made Scully roll her eyes at him.

* * *

Later that day Mulder and Charlie had just gone out to get some groceries for the ladies. Bill had been feeling sick and therefore stayed in bed most of the day. When they came back they were attacked by the three boys who wanted them to play basketball with them.

"I can't kids, I've promised to go pick up the Christmas tree", Charlie said sad.

"What about you, Uncle Mulder? Are you to busy too?" Chris asked as he put on his biggest puppy eyes and sounded really wounded. Both Matt and Nick looked at him the same way, and he felt cornered. As he looked up he saw Scully, and realized she had been watching, and was smiling at his defeat.

"No, I'm not too busy, actually. But don't think I'll take it easy on you, because you're just kids", he joked.

"Okay", all three boys replied.

As they played basketball outside, he could see that Scully was watching them from the window smiling. He was glad that she was happy again.

He was playing with Matt against Nick and Chris, and he was actually enjoying himself. It had been a while since he had played with anybody and he liked it. Most of the time he passed the ball to Matt, so he could shoot it.

Suddenly as Chris tried to block Matt, he accidentally knocked him over and Matt's face made contact with the ground. Mulder ran over to him at once, and saw the red mark forming on his forehead. The skin hadn't broken, but it had been quite a bump.

"Are you okay, Matt?" Mulder asked, as he carried the boy inside in his arms.

"I'm fine… I don't even bleed", he said as he touched his own forehead trying to feel the damage.

"I know, but we better get Aunt Dana to look at it", Mulder responded the boy seriously.

"But we were just having so much fun!" Matt complained.

"And we will again, after your aunt says you're fine, okay?" Mulder tried to calm him down.

"Yeah… I guess", Matt muttered.

When they came into the living room Mulder lay Matt down at the coach, but he quickly sat up.

"I'm fine, Aunt Dana! I'm just going to get a bruise like Uncle Mulder has", Matt complained and pointed at Mulder, who had forgot about his own bruise.

"Well I can't see anything wrong with you, Matt. But if your head begins to hurt or you feel nausea, you need to come in to me right away, okay", Scully said in her doctor voice.

"Sure, Aunt Dana", Matt responded glad.

Mulder was relieved Matt was okay. He had feared the worst. Scully could see the worry written all over his face, and thought to herself; He would have been the best father a boy could ever want. She had been thinking this the whole day, when she had seen him play basket with the boys, but now she couldn't help but think it again. She felt sorry she couldn't give him a child. But they already had a son out there somewhere. She knew that one day they would meet William again. Maybe not until they were all dead, but some day they would be reunited, and thought kept her going. Because even though she had her best friend, best partner and best lover in Mulder, she still missed her little boy every day. She knew Mulder felt the same way too.

* * *

A bit later Mulder came in with his cheeks all red from being outside. He sat down next to her at the table and kissed her cheek, even if the whole family was watching. He didn't care right now, he knew Scully needed it. He needed it. They looked at each other and somehow they knew what the other one was thinking. They smiled, when they heard the three boys trying to suppress their laughs as they kissed. Nothing could ever come between them, and nothing could ever separate them. Unfortunately Bill wasn't aware of this, and even though he had been feeling sick, he had had the time to invite a special dinner guest.


	5. Unexpected visitor

Chapter 5 - Unexpected visitor

Scully could see Mulder recognized the now 40 year old male sitting next to her on her left side, while Mulder sat on her right. His hair was black, but turning grey in the sides. Physically he looked good. He hadn't got a paunch like many other men his age, but neither was he as muscular as Mulder. He was wearing a navy sweater and beige pants. He kept asking Scully questions like; how have you been? So you work as a doctor now? Do you remember the time when…? etc. etc. Scully didn't like the situation, but she thought it was nice to see how jealous Mulder got. Even though she loved him she still liked to torture him a bit. At one point the hurt look in his eyes got a tad too sad, and Scully couldn't stop herself from brushing her fingers along his arm, which casually lay on the table. Just to assure him she didn't like the situation either. A gesture only he and she knew meant that.

When Scully had finished one of her answers to his many questions, Mulder cut in and stole her back from the man, who practically was a stranger to him. He casually put an arm around her, since both of them had finished eating, and in order to show Bill's guest that she belonged to him now.

"You don't need to do that, Mulder", she whispered at him. "You're the one that I love".

"I just want to make sure _he_ knows that too", Mulder said.

"It doesn't matter what he thinks, it matters what you think! You don't think I would be tempted to go back to Ethan do you?"

"Of course not, Scully. It's a guy thing. If someone makes a move on your girl, you need to show them that she's yours."

"But he hasn't _made a move_ on me, Mulder."

"A man doesn't ask a woman if she remember the time they met, unless he wants her."

"That's crazy, Mulder! He's only here because he's a good friend of Bill's."

"He is?" Mulder asked, and Scully could hear the envy in his voice.

"It doesn't matter Bill likes him. That doesn't make me like him. I like you, Mulder", she assured him.

* * *

Bill was convinced bringing Dana's ex over to dinner, would provide some kind of argument between the all too happy couple. Doing the first 15 minutes of dinner it seemed to work. While Ethan talked to Scully, he could see Mulder get more and more frustrated. But then they began talking to each other, and Ethan talked to Tara, who was seated on his other side. Bill had to do more to make his plan of destruction work. He hadn't given totally up Ethan yet, though.

* * *

As the evening went on, Mulder learnt that Ethan had been married with two kids, but recently he had got a divorce. The first thought going through his head was that this was Scully's chance to be a mother – or at least a stepmother. He knew she would never leave him, but he also knew this made Ethan more attractive to her. Even if she didn't knew it herself. He tried to stay close to Scully the whole time, and didn't let Ethan get a chance to talk with her anymore. It made him nervous that he was Bill's friend. He felt like Ethan was more a part of the family than Mulder could ever be.

After having talked to Charlie, Scully had excused her and Mulder from the living room and they walked to their bedroom, where she turned to Mulder.

"Don't flip, but he's gonna stay till Christmas", said Scully.

"Who?" Mulder asked even though he knew very well who she meant. "Why?"

"He doesn't have any where else to be. His children are staying with their mother for the holidays and he isn't going to his parents' house in Montana until the 24th".

"Oh my god!"

"It ain't that bad, Mulder", she said surprised that he overreacted like this.

"I meant: Oh my god, is he from Montana. I didn't know you had been dating a cowboy, Scully", he said and smiled.

"Actually he once said to me that he dreamed of one day moving back home, and take over the farm, when his parents got too old to take care of everything", she giggled as she said it, relieved with Mulder's response to the whole thing.

"Must be time for that soon, then. I think you should take him back this instant. Wouldn't want to miss out on a chance to get up at 4 in the morning to milk the cows", he said trying to sound serious, but couldn't suppress his laughter.

"Actually his parents are not even 60 yet. I think I can wait a few more years before I replace you".

"They're not even 60? Jeez, where they like 12 when they reproduced?" he asked stunned.

"Actually they were 16!"

"That's so country!"

"I know! He doesn't seem like a country guy, but when we got to know each other better it became clearer to me, that he was obviously affected by it. After the first time we slept together he already began talking about marriage. It was a bit frightening, actually!"

Mulder froze when she mentioned sleeping with another man. He hated the thought that there had been anyone before him, and he always worried if she liked it more with them, than with him. He knew for a fact that he was the 5th person to get the Scully love. There had been; Marcus, Daniel, Jack and Ethan before him. Scully had seen his sudden discomfort, and didn't know what to do.

"I'm sorry, Mulder. I thought you knew I had slept with him!"

"Of course I knew, I… I just don't like to think about it, that's all!"

"You don't have anything to worry about, Mulder. Sex with Ethan was not an experience _you_ have reason to feel threatened by".

"Really?" he asked relieved.

"Really! There isn't anyone you should feel threatened by, actually. The passion we share, and the way you show it can't be compared to any other relationship. I know you're the best I could ever get, because we have a deeper understanding for each other, than I'll ever have with anyone else. I trust you! I've always been ashamed of letting people… you know… see me… naked, but with you it's different, because I trust you so much more. I can be myself comepletely with you!" She blushed slightly when she told him this.

"Oh, Scully. I've been so afraid I was the only one feeling like this. Knowing you feel the same, makes me so happy".

He stepped closer to her and cupped her cheek. His thumb traced her lips and they closed the distance between them in a passionate kiss. They made their way to the bed, and lay down with Mulder on top of Scully. In need for air he cut off the kiss and stared Scully deep into her blue eyes. He rolled over so she was on top of him. She pulled her sweater over her head and threw it on the floor. She lay down on him and started kissing his collarbone slowly moving up to a place on his neck she knew to be very ticklish and sensitive. He moaned when her lips traced his special spot. She started sucking on the spot causing Mulder's member to enlarge. She knew it was going to leave a revealing mark, but neither of them cared in that loving moment.

Once again he was on top. His hair was already messy, just like Scully liked it, and as they kissed his fingers traced up and down her side, causing her to shiver. It didn't take them long to get naked, and they made hot passionate love to each other.

* * *

Bill again thought his plan was beginning to work, since both of them had been gone an hour, and had left right after he had seen Charlie talk to Dana. It was brilliant to make Ethan stay. He knew Ethan had never recovered completely since the break up with her, because he had thought she was going to be the girl he married. Bill had always liked Ethan even though the rest of the family had found him a bit too pushy and self-centered, and they had always kept in touch. Ethan now lived in Houston and worked as a reporter for a local news program. Bill had thought Mulder might even be packing now, since it took them so long. Or else it was one hell of a fight they had. When he saw them come down the stairs with a red color coloring both of their faces, he thought to himself, that the argument must have been really good. But then he saw the smiles. Why in the name of god were they smiling after an argument? He decided to have a talk with his sister. Then he got scared she might get suspicious, so he decided to have a talk with Mulder instead.

"Hey, Mulder? Can I have a talk with you?" he asked.

"Bill! Yeah sure!" he said as Scully walked over to Maggie and Naomi who was talking in the other side of the room.

"I'm sorry about asking Ethan to stay here. It's just because he's been so lonely after the divorce. I had completely forgotten him and Scully had been involved. I mean, it's such a long time ago. I know it must be real difficult for you to be around Scully's ex", he said trying to lure some kind of explanation for this odd behavior out of him.

"Oh that's okay, Bill. I don't mind. Scully and I have… talked about it", he tried to hide a smug.

That's when Bill saw the hickey. Mulder saw Bill's unbelievable angry look, his fist that was dying to punch him and he saw his stare towards Mulder's neck. He knew this would end in disaster if he didn't do anything – he wouldn't cause a scene with the rest of Scully's family present. He moved quickly in direction of Scully, but she had seen it all, and was coming his way. They made a quick move out of the living room and into the kitchen. They stood quiet for about a half minute before Scully finally spoke.

"He does really hate you, doesn't he?" said Scully.

"Yeah. But it doesn't matter, Scully. He's your brother and we'll just have to keep apart for a few days – just while we're here. It's okay, I understand! I'll try not to get on his nerves more than I already do. I'm so sorry for ruining your Christmas like this", he said.

"It's not your fault, Mulder. We shouldn't hide our relationship. We've wasted too much time already pretending not to love each other, and I've promised myself that I'll never deny it again. If Bill wants to spend his Christmas being an annoying pain, then so be it! You don't have to do anything to please him. I'm sorry I didn't believe you, Mulder!" she said.

"I love you, Dana Scully", he said and took a hold of her hands.

"And I love you, Fox Mulder", she said.

They were just about to kiss when Ethan walked in the room. Scully blushed, but Mulder's face turned into a smirk and he put his arm around Scully.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I interrupted", Ethan said.

"That's okay. We'll finish later", Mulder said and made Ethan blush as well. As he left the room Scully hit Mulder hard on his upper arm.

"You didn't need to say that, Mulder", she said in a raised voice.

"I wanted to", he smiled back, not taking her serious. She pretended to be offended, but he could see, she thought it was funny as well.

* * *

Not soon after they all went to sleep. Mulder had promised the kids to play video games with them the next day, and Scully was going shopping with Maggie, Naomi, Tara and Jill. Mulder and Scully slept well that night. They curled up together and talked for a half hour before they closed their eyes and tried to sleep. Bill however couldn't sleep. He got out of bed, trying not to wake Tara, who already slept, and walked down to the kitchen to find Ethan.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Ethan asked Bill.

"Guess not", he answered.

"Dana really seems happy, don't you think?" Ethan said.

"I don't know. Why?" he said a bit pissed.

"I just wished she had had those kinds of feelings towards me. Or that I had had them towards my wife. Guess things never work out the way we plan, huh?" he said and turned to crash on the couch in the living room. "Night, Bill".

"Yeah, night", he said but as he was left alone on the room he began to think. Did Mulder really make her happy? Was he the only one who couldn't see it? Even Dana's ex could see it, but not her own brother. Was he that blinded by the hatred he felt against Mulder? Bill began to second guess himself and his motives, and it became very late until his mind stopped wondering and let him go to sleep.


	6. Who's a child?

Chapter 6 - Who's a child?

The next few days went by quickly, Ethan had already left and Bill hadn't done a single thing to annoy Mulder. He was almost being nice to him. Almost. He still sends him an evil stare once in a while, but mostly if he got too close to Scully. Mulder had been spending much time with the boys lately. Scully liked to see him with the kids. It was a whole new side of him she had never seen before. He hadn't got to spend much time with their son. It was only Scully who had got to spend any real quality time with him, and she knew Mulder dreaded this.

"Do you know what Uncle Mulder", the young Matt said with his head tilted.

"No. What?" Mulder answered him sounding interested.

Matt looked down to the floor before looking directly into Mulder's eyes; "You're my favorite uncle in the whole world".

Mulder was stunned and forgot to answer the boy. He had never felt more worthy of being loved. This was a little boy who had no reason to like him. Mulder had earned his love. The boy had decided that he liked him; he had made his own decision about him. He hadn't listened to what Bill had probably said about him back home. This little innocent kid made Mulder's heart melt.

"What about Charlie, Matt?" Scully cut in.

"Al right, Charlie can be my favorite uncle… but then Mulder is my favorite grown-up" Matt said happy.

Mulder smiled at him to let him know he was honored. "Then you're mu favorite kid, Matt".

Matt actually glowed when Mulder said this. He jumped into Mulder's arms. Matt shocked Mulder again, but he hugged him back. After a few seconds Matt loosened the grip around Mulder's neck, but Mulder had other plans.

"Oh I got you now, Matt. This is revenge for conspiring against me in that game yesterday!" Mulder said, and began to tickle the child.

"NO! NO! I'm so ticklish… please… don't do this… NO!" he yelled, but there was no mercy from the Muldinator.

"I told you, I would make you regret it Matthew Scully. And I'm a man of my word!"

The double trouble had heard Matt's yells and came running to the rescue. Nick pulled on Mulder's left leg, while Chris pulled on his right, making him fall down on the couch behind him, placing Matt on top of Mulder. Now the double trouble took each of Mulder's arms and hold on to them while Matt tickled Mulder under his arms. Scully laughed at this sight. Mulder was so ticklish.

"Help me, Scully! They're crazy!" he managed to get out.

Scully walked over to the couch and helped Matt tickle Mulder. "Betrayer!" Mulder yelled. He almost managed to get free from the twins' grabs on his arms, but Matt was fast to jump up and help them hold his arms above his head, while Scully sat on top of him and continued to tickle him.

"It's not fair!" Mulder exclaimed. "You're four against one!"

Just then Maggie walked through the door. "Oh my god! What on earth are you doing, kids?"

"HELP ME!" Mulder yelled.

Maggie was astounded to see her daughter being this childish, but also found the situation funny. "Please kids! Stop attacking your uncle. And Dana? When will you ever grow up?"

They all let go, and Mulder sat up on the couch next to Scully while the boys sat next to him on the other side. His face was bright red.

"She never grows up! I try to tell her, but she never listens to me! Like a child she is", Mulder said trying to sound serious.

"I'm childish, Mulder? You didn't speak to me for five hours last time we played scrabble together, because you lost. You never clean up after yourself. You can't cook. And if anyone ever…" she began to list all the things, proving he was a bigger baby than her.

"Alright, Scully, alright. I'm a child! I give up", he said.

"Are you really like a child, uncle Mulder?" Chris asked him.

"He sure is!" Scully answered before Mulder got a chance to.

"You're like Peter Pan!" Nick said with deep worship in his voice, eyes locked at Mulder.

This made Mulder, Scully and Maggie laugh. The kids were dead serious though. They looked at the adults like they were mad, for laughing at this statement – a look only a kid can make.

"What's funny about that?" Nick asked offended.

"Nothing, Nick! I guess I am a bit like Peter Pan. But there's some kid left in all adults. Even your father", he tried to explain without offending the kids more.

"Even in my father?" Matt asked.

"Of course", Maggie answered him. "You know just last week he told me, that he had played one of your video games, when you were at school"

Matt began to laugh. "You're kidding!" he giggled.

"No, I'm not", Maggie promised.

"Then why will he never play them with me?" the little boy asked sad.

"Someone try so hard not to grow up, that they never do. That's sad; because sometimes it's also fun to be an adult. And sometimes you need to take responsibility even though it's easiest not to. Then there are those who try to grow up, but find it hard to let go of the kid inside of them, like me. And then there are those like your father, who's afraid to listen to the kid inside of them. They think they need to grow up and take care of all. But that's sad too, because no one should have _that_ much responsibility", Mulder explained the young boys.

Nick and Chris seemed a little puzzled, but Matt seemed to understand Mulder. He was a smart boy, and he and Mulder were connected on a higher level – they thought alike and had a deeper understanding for each other.

"Is that why daddy don't like you. Because he thinks he needs to protect Auntie Dana?"

"Yeah, it probably is, kid", Mulder answered astounded at the profiler hidden in Matt.

There was silence for a little while before Scully finally spoke.

"Well it's getting late kids, you better go to bed now", she ordered.

"Please can we stay up a little longer? Please, please, please, favorite auntie Dana?" The three boys begged.

"I guess you could… but then you would wake up later in the morning", she said trying to use the boys' crave after knowing what the nicely wrapped gifts under the beautifully decorated Christmas tree contained. They were quiet for a few seconds, trying to read the answer in each other's faces.

"Actually, I'm pretty tired! I don't know 'bout you guys, but I think I'll head to bed", Nick said.

"Yeah, me too!" the other boys agreed.

They said their goodnights to all, and went to their room, where they probably wouldn't sleep in the nearest future, due to the excitement. The rest of the family came in to the room as the boys had went to bed, and they were going to play a game of charades. They teamed up, so it was Mulder, Scully, Naomi and Maggie on one team and Bill, Tara, Charlie and Jill on the other team.

After fifteen minutes of charades Mulder and Scully's team were winning. Mostly because Mulder and Scully understood each other's signs so well. The score was 13 to 6, and Bill was up.

"Book!" Tara yelled overexcited, as she had been during the whole game. "2 words!"

First Bill ran around the living room pretending to hold something in front of him.

"Horse! Brokeback Mountain!" Tara yelled still hyper, but Bill chook his head.

"That would be a different sign", Charlie giggled.

Bill pointed at Mulder. Mulder feared the worst, along with the rest of the family.

"You sure this is a good idea, Bill?" Tara asked, finally calm. Bill nodded.

"American Psycho", Charlie giggled, while Mulder send him an evil glare, which Charlie new was in jest.

Tara jumped up from her chair and yelled: "Native son!" Even her own husband rolled his eyes at her by now. She was probably the worst charades player in the whole world. The time was up.

"What was it then?" Jill asked intrigued, but at the same time afraid it would be something mean.

"It was Harry Potter!" Bill said disappointed, making everyone laugh.

"How the hell… sorry mum… I mean how was that Harry Potter? He doesn't have a horse!" Charlie managed to get out.

"Actually, that was a broomstick I was flying on", Bill tried to explain.

"But why on earth did you point at Fox?" Maggie asked confused. "I mean he hasn't glasses!"

"He's a dude with green eyes in love with a red haired girl, who come from a family of red haired, with a mother that loves him like his own son, and brothers named Bill and Charlie", Bill said.

"How do you know all this about Harry Potter, Bill? I didn't think you to be into that kind of fiction" Charlie stated.

"Alright so maybe I've seen the movies a couple of times with Matt, so what?" Bill's cheeks were about the same color as his hair.

"But Harry and Ginny doesn't get together until the sixth book, and that isn't made in to a movie yet. Oh my god, Uncle Bill! You've read Harry Potter!" Naomi said beginning to laugh.

"It's a good book, okay!" Bill said now more red in his face than the house banner of Gryffindor.

"Actually, I've read them too", Mulder confessed.

"Me too", Jill said.

"They are pretty good", Scully needed to agree.

"Am I the only sane adult here?" Charlie joked.

"I haven't read them, Charlie", Maggie said.

"That doesn't count, mum! You're old", Charlie teased his mother.

"I maybe old, Charles Scully, but that doesn't mean I can't read. Or that I can't punish you, if that's what I want. This may be your house, but as your mother I'm still the boss of you", she half joked. "That's right; I can be tough like Molly Weasley, one more thing the Scully's have in common with the Weasley's".

"I thought you hadn't read the books, mum?" Scully said.

"Well maybe I skimmed a few pages", Maggie confessed.

* * *

The next morning was Christmas day. When Mulder and Scully woke up, they were laying in each other's arms.

"Merry Christmas, sleepy head", said Mulder and kissed her forehead.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Mulder", she replied and nestled in closer to him.

"Your brother has been real friendly towards me lately. Well not friendly… more like not evil… anyway he's been better than he usually is! Do you think it's because it's Christmas, or do you think Maggie has beaten some sense into him?" Mulder wondered.

Scully giggled, and then answered him: "I don't know. But it has been really nice, not worrying about him killing you in your sleep. Maybe he's just realized he has been wrong about you all along, Mulder!"

"You think it will last? It would be nice having an enemy less! Especially since he's your brother, and it would be wrong of me to kick his ass!" Mulder joked.

"Maybe it will last. You could try to talk to him about before we have to go home again", she said.

"I don't know! Maybe I should just…" that was all Mulder managed to get out, before the three boys came running through the door, and jumping up in the bed.

"It's present time, Uncle Mulder! Wake up, it's Christmas!" Matt yelled as he jumped on Mulder.

"Take it easy, kid! You're breaking my leg!" Mulder said and lifted the kid down to the floor. "You go on down and we'll get dressed in a minute, okay?"

"Okay, Uncle Mulder!" the three boys said in unison, and then they made their way to the next rooms, waking everyone else the way they had waken them.

Mulder and Scully smiled at each other as they heard Maggie yell: "Jeez, kids! Settle down! You nearly scared me to death!"


	7. This is not happening

Chapter 7 – This is not happening

The morning went great. The boys were extremely happy and loved their presents. Bill was being as nice as he could be. Mulder tried to keep his distance to Scully, but it was damn hard, when she was wearing a sweater like that – tide the right places – and had forgot to cover her cute little mole on her upper lip. His lips were actually quivering and begging him to kiss her. Mulder's bruise, were practically gone. This helped Bill a lot. It was easier for him to cope with the whole situation when he did not have to think about how that bruise had been inflicted.

"Where are you going?" Mulder asked Scully as she was heading to the door wearing her warm brown coat.

"I'm going for a walk with Naomi. Will you be fine here, or do you want to come along?" she asked him, concerned what he might get himself into with her relatives.

"Oh, I'll be fine, Scully. Don't you worry! And if I feel uncomfortable I can go to our room", he said.

"Okay, Mulder. But don't get yourself into trouble, okay?" Scully whispered so her family did not hear her ridiculous worries.

"You're the one going out, Scully! You be careful!" he said in a joking tone.

Once Scully had left he felt a little nervous. He had only been alone with Charlie and Maggie before and he could manage that. But now he was sitting alone in the living room with the scary Bill Scully. He tried to focus on the TV and wanted to say something about the program they were watching, but he couldn't concentrate on it. He could feel Bill's eyes on him.

"So… Mulder? What are your intentions with my sister?" he asked. Mulder would have thought he was kidding if it wasn't for the seriousness in his voice. He actually liked the silent treatment better.

"Well I intend to be nice to her… if that's what you mean", he said nervously knowing very well that wasn't what Bill wanted to hear.

"Not exactly, Mulder", Bill kept on going. "I was wondering if you would ever make an honest woman out of her."

"Well… I haven't been able to before. Being wanted by the bureau and all. I always wanted to though. I guess I will ask her someday", he answered more honest than he had intended to. As a matter of fact he already knew when and how he would pop the question.

"That's good. Don't wait too long though. I don't want by baby sister to get disappointed or hurt", said Bill.

"I know. I know I'm not what you expected her to end up with. But I swear to you, I would never do anything to hurt. And I love her with all my heart", Mulder now felt he was close to getting the long waited approval from Scully's most intimidating brother.

"I know you do, Mulder. I'm sorry I've been such a pain. I've just never gotten over what happened to Melissa. And with Dana being my only sister left, I just want the best for her. For a long time I haven't thought it was you. But now I'm beginning to think that if you really makes her happy, then you could be the one for her", Bill paused for a moment, while Mulder stayed calm. "I still don't like you much! And if you ever hurt her in any way, I swear I'll make you regret it. But for now I'll be civil towards you. I'll act mature, I promise you. But you can't be having sex with my sister when I'm in the next room."

Mulder blushed at his last comment, but was glad he had earned his respect. Even though Bill didn't like him he respected him and was not going to interfere in their relationship anymore.

"Thanks, Bill. And it won't happen again." Mulder stated.

* * *

"How do you know if it's true love?" Naomi asked her aunt as they were walking down the street.

"Are you seeing someone, Naomi?"

"Well… there's this boy in my math class – Damian – he is really cute and nice. We've known each other since we were kids. But lately we have been talking more, and he seems really… friendly. And sweet!"

"That's nice for you! It's a good thing if you become friends first. But don't wait too long to make a move. It only gets harder as the time goes by." Scully said talking from experience.

"You and Mulder worked together a long time before you got together didn't you?"

"Yeah we did. We were partners for seven years. After the first year we were inseparable. They tried to split us up, but there was just no way." She remembered first meeting Mulder and had a dreamish look on her face.

"When did you know it was love?"

"The love was always there. It just grew stronger and stronger as the years went by, and it became hard to suppress it. We knew we couldn't be together, when we were partners. But when he got fired, we finally became more than friends. Then he was gone for a while, and after that we had to go into hiding. But now were finally free. Were a couple and there's no one who is trying to stop us. It feels good – I've actually not even realized that until right this moment. You know, how good it feels to be free and with the one you... love!" Scully's heart felt warm talking about her and Mulder.

"I would like to have that with Damien. I would like to be friends with him first. I actually think we are friends. Maybe I could ask him over tomorrow? You could meet him if you want?" Naomi asked enthusiastic.

"I would really like that, Naomi. But you better ask your parents first!"

"Yeah… of course… but do you think he will say yes. It would be embarrassing if he didn't want to", Naomi said nervous.

"I'm sure he will say yes, Naomi. And if he doesn't want to, then it's his loss." Scully smiled at Naomi and she returned the smile.

When they turned the next corner they were met by several police cars and an ambulance. Scully could feel in the pit of her stomach that something wasn't right. That someone had died. It was a gift she had picked up from her other half. She and Naomi had instantly stopped moving.

"Stay here, Naomi! I'm gonna find out what's happened, okay?" Scully asked making sure her niece didn't have to see anything horrible.

"Do you think someone's been robbed… or hurt?" She asked not feeling what her aunt felt.

"Maybe. I'll be right back, honey!" She said and moved towards a police man who seemed to be in charge.

"Who's been murdered, sir?" She asked in her old FBI tone.

"Well, that's confidentially, miss. You and your daughter need to go home now. We're very busy, and the pathologist ain't coming home until the day after tomorrow!" the sheriff said in a rejecting and stressed tone.

"Well, I'm a doctor and I've worked for the FBI. I could help you if you want", Scully said as she showed him her ID. The sheriff was now very interested.

"Really? That would be great Miss Sc… I mean Dr Scully. But I must warn you. It's not a pretty case. A lot of blood!" The sheriff explained.

"I'll be fine. I can come to the morgue in an hour or so. I just need to follow my niece home. Will that be okay?" Scully asked.

"Yeah sure. We'll bring the body to the morgue. Once we got him gathered off the road that is." The sheriff stated as he wrinkled his nose.

"Gathered?" Scully asked in shock.

"Yeah, it ain't pretty. His arm is completely ripped off. And his leg is barely hanging on the body. If it's too much I understand. I wish I could make someone else to take my place in this case", the sheriff said honest. Scully now noticed the wrinkles he had around his eyes. He was probably some years older than her. Around 50 she would assume. His hair was more grey than black, and his eyes were dark and brown. He seemed friendly. Scully had got to know quite a few sheriffs over the years, some friendly and some not so friendly. But this one seemed okay to her.

"Maybe I should see him here first. If it is not possible to get him to the morgue in one piece", Scully said in her rational voice, which only Mulder dared to argue with.

"Okay. If you really want to. But I must warn you again! The body is hardly recognizable."

"It's okay sheriff…" Scully read his nametag. "Sheriff Groban!"

When Scully saw the body she stayed calm. It was horrible, but she wouldn't want to seem weak in front of the sheriff and the other cops. She noticed a thing in one of the deep cuts on the young boy. She got one of the deputies to bag it for her and send it to the lab. It looked like a claw. But not from any animal she knew about. She now knew she had to tell Mulder this. She did not want to, but knew he might be able to solve this thing. Back in the say it would definitely have qualified as an x-file.

* * *

When Naomi and Scully got back, Mulder instantly felt something had happened. He could see it in Scully. The very way she moved.

"What is it, Scully?" he asked her as Naomi had walked into the living room and he was alone with her in the hallway.

"There's been a murder in the neighborhood. Or an attack. It's hard to tell. I've got myself mixed up in it, and I need to go down to the morgue and perform an autopsy on the body. What's left of it that is. I won't lie to you, Mulder. This looks like an x-file." She said and looked into the familiar flame burning in his green eyes. It had been a while since she had seen 'the paranormal light-bulb' as she liked to call it. It went on everytime the man saw a chance of something being paranormal.

"I'm going with you, Scully!" he said, and she knew she couldn't stop him even if she wanted to.

"The last time you took on a case it almost split us up, Mulder! I'm worried it might again." She said and looked down to her feet.

"I know! But it won't happen again, Scully. You'll probably come up with some reasonable explanation for this whole thing and I can profile the killer. It'll be over before we can say extra terrestrial." He tried to joke and it brought a slight smile to Scully's lips.

"Alright, Mulder. I'll ask Charlie if I can borrow his car. Go get ready then!"

* * *

"This is so an x-file, Scully", Mulder said as they sat in the car on the way back from the morgue.

"I don't know, Mulder", she said as she gave him a look. "Sheriff Groban said that Vince Kane had a lot of enemies. Even though he was only 18, he often pissed a lot of people off and went out with a lot of daughters and sisters, which he left heartbroken. Someone could have staged it to look like an animal attack"

"Come on, Scully! It's a werewolf!" Mulder said enthusiastic.

"Mulder…"

"What about the claw you found on the body, Scully? You said it didn't match any animal you know about."

"Maybe it's from an animal I don't know about then. Or it's from a homemade werewolf costume."

"Oh my god, Scully! A homemade werewolf costume! That's your big scientific explanation?"

"So far it's the best explanation, Mulder!"

"Scully…" Mulder paused a bit and he made eye contact with her. "This really feels like old times, doesn't it, Scully?" his voice were very calm and pleasant now.

"Yeah, Mulder. It does! But you have to be more careful what you say now!" she said teasingly.

"And why is that?" he played along.

"Because if you're not nice to me, I won't be nice to you later", she smiled a sexy smile that made Mulder's heart skip a beat.

"Is that a threat?" he asked in the same teasing tone.

"It can be – if you want it to!" she moved her hand from her own thigh to his. It made him grab the steering wheel tighter.

"You know you could have won a lot of discussions back in the day, if you had just used that strategy", Mulder said as she moved her hand longer up his thigh.

"Oh, I know that, Mulder. But then we wouldn't get much work done would we?" Her tone was still teasing.

"Sure we would have, Scully! You know I actually had this fantasy about you when we were partners… I always thought about it when we were doing boring paperwork."

"Are you serious, Mulder? You fantasized about me?" she was truly astonished by this.

"All the time, Scully. All the time. I still do!" he admitted.

"But you have me now, Mulder. There's no need to fantasize anymore."

"You work long shifts, Scully! I need to… keep warm till you come home."

"That's disgusting, Mulder. You can't wait one day?" she removed her hand from him.

"Don't stop! I like it when you touch me like that", he said and smiled to her.

"I noticed that!" she said and nodded towards his suddenly tighter jeans. "But we're almost there, Mulder."

Ten seconds later they pulled up in the driveway by the house. They held hands as they walked in. She knew Mulder thought about the case, but she didn't want to talk about it anymore. Not today. They had told sheriff Groban they would meet him at the police station the next morning. But for now she would like to enjoy a nice Christmas dinner with her family. Truth be told it was hard for her too, to stop thinking about the case. It did seem strange. And she had that feeling, like something wasn't quite ordinary. She had never told Mulder about this feeling. She knew she had to be the rational part of the team they made. Even though she too had become a believer, it did not make it hard for her to be skeptical. The discussing with Mulder was simply too fun to hate. The case with Father Joe had been different. She hadn't believed him to be psychic. And with religion involved it really had been uncomfortable. But now she realized she had actually missed these kinds of cases with Mulder. It was a long time ago since they had been on a case like this. Even though they technically weren't a part of the investigation she had a feeling Mulder would contribute a lot to the solving of it. She didn't like that they may had to face danger. She knew this case could become dangerous and she would be happy if she and Mulder could stay in the background while the sheriff and his deputies did all the 'action'. Somehow she had a feeling that wouldn't happen though. Because… when had it ever?

* * *

_So.. Do you still like this story? Does the new paranormal element function so far, or is it stupid? Had some doubts about it, but thought it might be interesting! Please just tell me if you like it :)  
So far I love the reviews I've got. REALLY! They rock my world ;) Thanks a lot reviewers and people who keep reading this story!_


	8. Temptations

Chapter 8 – Temptations

As soon as Mulder and Scully got inside the house they knew something was up. Too quiet. Jill met them in the hallway.

"Is it true, Dana?" she asked truly worried. "Has Vince Kane really been murdered?"

"You knew him?" Dana answered with a question.

"His father is reverend Kane. We have spent a lot of time with that family. Oh my god, I can't believe it. Little Vince Kane!" Tears rolled down Jill's cheeks and Charlie came out to her.

"Oh, Charlie!" She cried. "It really is him! Vince is gone!"

"We saw it in the news!" Charlie told Mulder and Scully as he tried to comfort his wife.

Mulder and Scully just nodded and went into the living room where the rest of the family was. They were all quiet. Even the twins. Mulder felt uncomfortable. He saw Scully sat herself down in the couch so he just did the same.

"Maybe we should get dinner ready?" Maggie asked not addressing anyone in particular. "I think Jill would appreciate it."

They all walked towards the kitchen. Naomi stayed with the boys. She had never liked Vince, but she hadn't wanted him dead either. They had actually been okay friends when they were younger. But already when he was ten years old he began to be a bully. He had dated a few of Naomi's friends the last year. It had ended in disaster every time. She didn't understand how he had died. They hadn't said anything about it in the news. Maybe he had crashed with his car. He always drove way pass the speed limit. But she hadn't seen a car wreck where he had died. She thought about having been so close to a dead body as she had been. So close to Vince, but yet more distant than she had ever been. The idea made her sick. She ran to the bathroom and threw up.

* * *

"I had forgotten about this" Mulder mumbled as him and Scully got ready for bed.

"About what?" Scully asked as she pulled her sweater off.

"Just… being a family I guess. You know, the way they cooked dinner for Jill, because of how she felt. And the way you comforted Naomi. You were all just so… caring! I had forgotten how that was like!" he said while he lay on the bed in his boxers and looked up to the ceiling.

"Well, you're a part of this family too now, Mulder. You have been for a long time!" Scully said as she sat down next to him on the bed and caressed and his cheek.

"You think so? Do you think the rest of the family believes that too?" there was a bit of hope in his voice now. Just the thought of someone considering him as their family meant the world to him. Especially if it was this family. Scully's family.

"Of course they do, Mulder" Scully giggled a bit. "I mean, people spend Christmas with their family! And they didn't even think twice about inviting you. Well, Bill may have objected… but the rest of them consider you as much a part of the family as I am."

"Really? Wauw!" his heart warmed a little. He looked up at Scully who was sitting next to him. She had forgotten about getting dressed and sat only in her bra and shorts. "Actually I have one last little present for you", he said as began to sit up and put his hand on her naked hip.

"Just a little present?" she asked teasingly as she saw where he was going. She swung her leg over his and straddled him.

"Thank you" he said just as he had done weeks prior, when she had implied the same thing.

"Oh, don't thank me yet, Mulder" she said still teasing. She kissed him gentle on the lips. "Not yet", she whispered into his ear, which caused shivers down his spine. 'Dear god' he thought. 'How can I ever resist this woman?'

They kissed again. This time more passionate. Her fingers wondered from his shoulders along his abs and down to his boxers. Just as she was about to put her hand down the boxers he stopped her.

"I'm sorry, Scully. I forgot! I can't do this!" he laid down on the bed again with her still on top of him and he covered his face with a pillow.

"Mulder? What's the problem? Is it about the case?" she asked not getting what he said and the way he acted - usually he was like a nymfo, and couldn't get enough of her.

"No! It's not that. It's just… I promised your brother not to… you know... just while we're here."

Now Scully laughed. "Mulder! He doesn't have to know. It's not like we have to tell him or anything", she said trying to remove the pillow from his face.

"He can hear us through the wall, Scully! He will kill me if I break this promise. I won't be a part of the family anymore. I will lose his respect. I will…" he was shocked that Scully had actually hit him. His shoulder was definitely going to bruise.

"Mulder you're such a crybaby! Why did you have to make a promise like that anyway? And would you please remove that god damned pillow?" she raised her voice a bit.

"No, Scully" he held the pillow down harder, as she tried to remove it. "If I look at you I just wanna do stuff."

"Please, Mulder. I can be quiet! I need you, Mulder!" she cried as a child begging for something.

"Stop, Scully!" he exclaimed as she groped his groin. He had been so startled he had sat up again and the pillow had fallen to the floor.

"Don't you like it?" she asked in a hurt voice.

"No Scully! Now stop" he said and he took both her hands and removed them from the area they were working in. He lifted her off of him and sat her down on the other side of the bed. "Now go to sleep, Scully!" he ordered her, and hoped she would accept, as he crawled under the covers. But she didn't give up that easy. She got out of the bed, and Mulder thought she was only going to get her clothes on for sleeping. But instead of putting clothes on her body, she lost the rest of clothes she had on. She stood before him completely naked.

"I think I'll sleep like this" she said in a seductive tone. "So it doesn't get too… _hot_".

Mulder was now completely lost. As she got into the bed and crawled under the covers right next to him, he couldn't do anything but… feel the bulge in his boxers grow.

"You're killing me, Scully!" he said as he lay on his back trying not to focus on her.

"Oh, Mulder? Would you mind scratching my back? It itches!" she asked him. He knew she was up to something, but couldn't figure out what.

"Okay", he said and began to scratch it.

"A bit lower" she ordered as his hand scratched her upper back. He brought the hand down a bit. "Lower" she said again and again until his hand was on her lower back. "Mmmh, thanks, Mulder! Ahh yeah, right there!" her voice was once again seductive, and Mulder couldn't help but kiss her shoulder. 'I'm so weak' he thought to himself as he had lost their little game. 'Is there anything she can't make me do?'

"Promise to be quiet, Scully!" he said as things began to heat up between them.

"Mmmh" was all she could say.

When she was about to climax it was her turn to hold a pillow over her head. It was the only way she could hold her promise. Mulder had trouble keeping quiet too, and only succeeded by biting into Scully's shoulder. It left a bite mark, but he hadn't caused her too much pain - at least he didn't hope he had. They talked some before being able to go to sleep. They almost always talked. It was another of the things separating their relationship from the others they had been in – the talking. It felt nice to be able to talk so good together. But then again, it was probably because they had been best friends long before they had been lovers. And the talking came much more natural to them than the actual love-making.

"I love you, Dana Katherine Scully" was the last thing she heard before she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"We're gonna go talk to the family today. But it is common knowledge on these parts that Vince Kane had a lot of enemies!" sheriff Groban said in his dark and comfortable voice.

"So we've been told" Scully told him and he just nodded.

"Can we tag along? I would like to hear what the family has to say" Mulder asked sheriff Groban.

"Yeah of course. You can ride with me and one my deputies" he told them. "Just wait by the car, I'll be there in five" he stated and went to his office to get something.

Mulder and Scully went out to the parking lot, and found a very young depute waiting by the sheriff's car. They introduced themselves to him. He seemed a little green. He had short blond hair, and bright blue eyes. They reminded Scully about William's eyes. He was probably still in his twenties.

"Oh, you're the folks who gonna help with this investigation. It's my first case!" he proudly told them and Mulder and Scully couldn't help but smile to each other.

"It's quite a case for a first case", Mulder told him. "Dealing with the family is one of the things you need to be most careful about. They're probably real shook up by this, and one mistake and they won't cooperate with us."

"Thanks Mr. Mulder" the deputy honestly thanked him. "The sheriff said I was ready for this. Honestly I just don't think anybody else wanted to join him on the case. He don't even want it himself. The victim was dating his daughter and he wasn't happy about it", the last thing he said in a whisper.

Mulder and Scully exchanged a look, but couldn't ask more into this, because the sheriff was coming towards them.

"I see you met deputy Ingalls. You can drive the car, Woody" he told deputy Ingalls.

When they walked into the Kane's residence they could instantly feel the sadness. They were all sat in the living room. Reverend and Mrs. Kane sat in one couch while sheriff Groban and Scully sat in a couch facing theirs. Deputy Ingalls was taking notes as they talked, while Mulder walked around in the living room and studied the family pictures.

"I know this must come as a big shock to you, reverend, but the murder on your son seems to be an act of anger. Do you know any in particular who might want your son dead?" sheriff Groban asked the reverend.

"You know Vince wasn't the most popular boy, Russell!" the reverend told sheriff Groban. "God knows I tried to get that boy to slow down, but Vince was always a wild boy. He even wanted to move out, and leave us. I only got him to stay, because I gave him a room over the garage and a car. Then he could have some more privacy but still have me and his mother to take care of him."

'A bribe? What a good parenting trick' Mulder thought as he studied a picture of the family by the beach. They looked happy. Vince must have been around 12 when this picture was taken. He had black hair and his eyes looked hazel. He was wearing a pair of black shorts and a necklace. The necklace was made out of a leather string and there was some kind of an amulet on. Mrs. Kane came over to him and looked at the photo too.

"That's a rare necklace" he told her.

"He always wore it. He inherited it from his grandpa, my dad, when he died. He was the only human he ever really respected. After he died, it became hard to talk to Vince. To control him. He really was a good kid. On the inside. He just had a hard time showing it to people", Mrs. Kane's eyes welled up.

"I'm sure he was, Mrs. Kane. I promise you I'll try to find his murderer. Maybe if we could have a look in his room? Maybe that would help with the investigation" he tried to convince her.

"Sure. Whatever you need. I haven't been up to his room yet. But I can show you where it is" she told him.

Mulder nodded to deputy Ingalls to come along with him. He liked the young man. Even though he was green and had no experience whatsoever, he seemed to have the heart in the right place. Mulder thanked Mrs. Kane as she left them in Vince's room. She didn't want to go in there just yet, and she went back to the living room, where Scully and the sheriff still talked to reverend Kane. Scully didn't think he knew a lot about his own son. He didn't even know if he had slept at home or out the night prior to the murder.

The walls in Vince's room were grey. He had a lot of magazines under his bed. Similar to those Scully had used to tease Mulder about. There was an old sofa in one end of the room. It was covered in clothes and empty pizza boxes. He looked if there was anything under the clothes. No luck. Then he looked through the closet. There wasn't much clothe in there. There was a pair of black dress suits, which looked like they had never been worn. The floor in the closet was filled with books, which probably never had been read. There was something about the way the books were scattered on the floor. It looked weird. Mulder removed the books, and found a loose floorboard. He lifted the board up. A diary? No boys kept diaries. Especially not bad boys like Vince Kane. No wonder it had been hidden. It would have been embarrassing if anyone had known about this. Mulder tucked it into the pocket of his coat.

* * *

"Mulder! You should have given that to the sheriff or the deputy!" Scully yelled at him when he showed her the diary in their bedroom.

"The deputy understood. I told him I just needed to read it, before I handed it in, and he said it was okay", Mulder told her.

"Of course he said that, Mulder. He's just a kid, and he looks up to you. You shouldn't be such a bad role model!" Scully tried to reason with him.

"He needs to know that it aren't always you have to go by the rules. Sometimes you need to do the right thing."

"Mulder, you just want to read it! It has nothing to do with doing the right thing! You just want to read before everybody else."

"Alright, maybe." Mulder admitted. "But don't tell me, you're not the least interested yourself. I mean it's a diary! Come on, Scully! It's going to be fun. Maybe we can even find out if there has been anyone who has made any threats towards him. He could have written it down in this" he said and held the diary up.

"Alright, Mulder!" she said and was now a bit excited too. "I mean… you're right! We might find something important".

Mulder laughed and they began to read. Mulder started to read aloud. The boy sure had issues. He didn't like his father much and he found it hard to love his mother when she always defended what his father said and did. He had written a lot about girls in there too. He didn't seem to be as cold as people said he was. He just had commitment issues. He liked all the girls he went out with adn treated them with love and respect. He just couldn't stick to one.

_Today Georgia found out about me and Laura. I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. Sure, I will miss her. I don't think I've ever felt for anyone what I feel for her. But she can do so much better than me. She deserves so much better. I don't know why she went out with me in the first place – she is such a smart girl, the smartest one I've ever dated. Maybe she thought she would be the one, who made me settle down a bit. I thought she would be too. But when Laura came to my house, I couldn't say no to her. I wanted to, but something in me was afraid to say no. Afraid of being with only one person. I don't know why I am so stupid. Why can't I just stick to one person, and be faithful. It shouldn't be this hard! I have been in love a million times. I am in love with Laura too. But Georgia is the only one who I've ever wanted to be friends with too. Whenever there's quiet and peaceful, I hear her laughter. It's the most beautiful laughter I've ever heard. Sometimes I cry myself to sleep. When I sleep alone that is. It's not often, but it does happen. I met a new girl today, btw. Her name is Polly, and she is really beautiful. She is no Georgia, but I can't ruin her life anymore. I've decided never to go back to Georgia. I'm not sure I would be able to resist the temptation of being with her if I did. _

He had written about Georgia almost every day. He compared all the girls he went out with to her. Mulder knew he loved Georgia. He could recognize a lot of the feelings. They were like those he felt towards Scully. The only difference was that Mulder had never been even tempted to be with someone else. How could he? She was the girl of his dreams. And more too! He just wasn't the cheating type. There was a part in the diary that really caught Mulder and Scully's attention.

_Mr. Hanson found out that I was the one who broke his daughter's heart today. He came down to the shop, where I work, and he said that if I ever neared Georgia again it would be the last thing I ever did. I've been threatened before, but I've never taken it serious before. He really scared me. I didn't show him that I was scared, and nobody in the shop found out. But after he walked out I needed to go to the bathroom and clear my thoughts. I didn't cry, but I wanted too. _

It was the last thing he had written. It was dated four days back. It was late and Mulder and Scully went to bed. Mulder was released when she didn't want to rape him that night. They talked about the case instead. They agreed on talking to this Mr. Hanson and his daughter Georgia. Mulder stuck to his werewolf theory, but Scully still claimed it could have been staged to look like an animal attack.

"By the way, Scully, did you find a necklace on or by the body?" Mulder asked as he remembered.

"No I don't think so! Why, Mulder?"

"His mother told me he always wore a necklace. Maybe it got caught in one of the werewolf's claws" he said still sticking to his theory.

"Or maybe the killer kept it as a souvenir, Mulder!" she said and patted him on the chest. "Remember to tell the sheriff about the necklace tomorrow. And to give him the diary!"

"Of course, Scully. I'll _try_ to remember", he joked.

They went to sleep, but were soon waken by Scully's cell phone. She answered it fast, trying not to wake Mulder, but it was too late. He was already awake.

"Who was it?" he asked her.

"It was deputy Ingalls. There's been another attack, Mulder. The victim is named Laura Adams", she said and they instantly began to get dressed. It was clear that the name on the victim and the name in the diary wasn't a coincidence.

* * *

_Is the x-file working? Or is it lame? Please review and tell me what you think :) _


	9. Second thoughts

_Author's note:  
__Forgive me philes I have sinned. It has been a long time since my last update. I have been buissy in school, and even though that is not a valid excuse it is the only one I can come up with. May this chapter please you all, as it has pleased me to finally write it. I hope to update sooner next time. (Btw, my cat has destroyed the c and d keys on my laptop, so I have to press hard on them for the com to register it - hope it hasn't caused to many errors)_

* * *

Chapter 9 – Second thoughts

Mulder didn't let Scully know how he felt. She had woken Charlie up and asked to borrow the car once again. He had let her, and didn't seem to mind the least. Mulder had let Scully drive. This of course alerted her. If Mulder let her drive the car, there had to be something wrong. But she just thought he might be tired. What he really felt was guilt. He knew he shouldn't have taken the diary. Scully was right – once again – it had been wrong of him. When the sheriff found out about the diary he probably didn't want Mulder's help anymore.

"Are you alright, Mulder?" Scully finally asked.

"Yeah", Mulder sighed not very convincing.

"Wanna talk about it, Mulder? I can tell something is bothering you", she said while making a left and turning down the road where late Laura Adams lay scattered on the road. The crime scene was surrounded by police cars.

"I _do_ want to talk about it, Scully! But it can wait till we get back home. Now let's go help these people solve this case, like we have so many times before", he smiled soft at her.

"Fine, Mulder. Let's do this thing", she said as they got out of the car.

They were met by deputy Ingalls, and Mulder instantly told him about the stuff they had read in the diary. The deputy's eyes widened more and more as Mulder talked, and just as Scully thought they were actually going to pop right out of his head, he blinked.

"Then we at least have a connection between the victims", the deputy stated. "Not that we needed it, really. It's common knowledge around town that the two victims had been… well, doing each other. There ain't many secrets 'round here. Georgia Hanson, though, is an entirely different matter. She seems like such a nice girl and the exact opposite of Vince Kane. I would never have guessed them to be carrying on."

"I think we should have a talk with her and her father. He seems like a plausible suspect. Why he would have killed Laura Adams, I don't really grasp, but he is the best suspect so far", Scully told the deputy.

"That seems like a good place to begin", the deputy nodded in appreciation. "But maybe we should wait a few hours."

"Of course. Where is the sheriff by the way?" Mulder asked as he looked around the scene of the crime which was only lit by the street lights.

"He told me to take care of this. One of his kids is sick and the wife has a night shift at the hospital", he told them. "She's a nurse there."

Mulder and Scully exchanged another one of their special looks, trying to figure out if the sheriff could be lying. They both knew this was what he probably had told the deputy, but whether it was the truth they doubted.

* * *

"What's going on, Scully?" Mulder asked on the way back to Charlie's. It was early morning and they had decided to go back for breakfast, and then the deputy would pick them up and they could go see the Hanson's.

"Well. It's safe to say it's the same killer. Same procedure and a connection between the victims. Whether it's a human or a werewolf there is no further indication of. The claw hasn't come back from the lab. It seems everyone in this town hasn't got off their Christmas break yet. But tomorrow we should have the results. Nothing to do but wait", she said very matter-of-factly as they arrived at the house.

"Do you think it's the right thing to do?" Mulder asked her truly nervous and with a sad look in his eyes that broke Scully's heart.

"We can't really do anything to speed it up, Mulder! We need to wait", she answered him rather confused by his sudden sadness.

"I mean about taking this case up. Helping and all. Do you really want to do it, Scully? Or are you just trying to please me?"

"Mulder!" Scully said in a high voice. "I know that I once only did these types of cases because it was my job, and I needed to. But not anymore, Mulder. Not for a long time. I am in this as deep as you are. Sure, I may not absolutely consider this an X-file per say, but it is still unexplained! And I got us involved in this, remember?"

"Sure you got us involved. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't _keeping_ you involved against your wish, Scully. I haven't always been fair towards you regarding the X-files, and I have on more than one occasion left you behind and neglected you. I have promised myself never to do anything like that again. I can't do it anymore, Scully. I won't be that man anymore!" tears filled Mulder's eyes.

"Oh, Mulder!" Scully exclaimed as she swung her arms around his neck and held him in for a huge and loving hug. "You silly man! I don't care if you have left me behind before. That's a long time ago, and I trust you not to do it anymore."

"Tell me if you want out of this, Scully. Just tell me, and I'll drop it. I promise you!"

"When have I ever not told you what I want, Mulder? I will always let you know if I'm unsatisfied. I promise you that." She said and held him even closer. She could feel his tears run down her cheeks. It tingled, but she knew he needed this. Many men thought it would be embarrassing to cry in front of others. Especially the woman you love. But Mulder knew how much strength it took for a man to admit his feelings and to show them, and that many men simply wasn't enough men to do that. Mulder had never cried in front of anyone except Scully. He had reserved his feelings for her. Knowing she understood them better than anyone else. She understood him better than anyone had ever done.

"Thanks", he whispered soft in her ear. There was totally quiet in the car. Mulder's tears still ran down his Scully's and his cheeks, but he cried with no sound. They sat quiet like this for a while, just holding each other in the car in the driveway.

* * *

"Haven't they come in yet?" Bill asked Charlie as he sat down by the breakfast table.

"No"

"But they arrived like five minutes ago!" Bill said confused.

"Then why don't you go get them, big brother. But I wouldn't be surprised if they were fooling around on the backseat", Charlie answered his brother, willingly trying to piss him off. Most people became angry on other when they were cranky in the morning, but Charlie tried to make everyone else cranky. He could be a pain too.

"Mulder should know better than that!" Bill tried to stay calm.

"Why? I heard your conversation the other day. He only promised not to do anything with you in the next room. He didn't say anything about a quickie on the backseat…"

"Charlie! That's our sister you're talking about! I know they aren't doing anything in that car, but I will go out to check on them anyway. Just to see if something is wrong." Bill said and went for the door.

"Sure thing, bro", Charlie said in an annoying tone.

When Bill walked out the door he was a bit startled when he saw the windows of the car totally fogged. He could feel his temper rising. 'They are just talking. They are just talking.' He kept telling himself. Then he saw their silhouettes though the fogged glass. It looked like they were making out. He almost ran to the car and pulled the car door on Mulder's side open. Mulder and Scully pulled away from each other in shock.

"What are you doing, Bill?" Scully yelled at him while Mulder blushed and he tried to hide his puffy red eyed.

"I was… I thought you were… I got…" Bill stuttered as he blushed himself, embarrassed to see another man cry.

"We'll be in, in a second, Bill. Just go!" she told him.

"I'm sorry." He tried to apologize as he closed the door and once again left them alone in the car.

"It is okay, Scully. He couldn't know", Mulder said.

"No it's not okay, Mulder. He shouldn't interfere like this. It's none of his business what we do when we're alone."

Mulder just dried his eyes looked at Scully with a dreamy, and everything but sad, look. Suddenly his eyes were filled with lust and hope and love.

"Why are you looking at me like that, Mulder?" Scully asked nervous as she leaned back in her seat. But Mulder leaned closer in on her.

"Well, now when Bill certainly won't disturb us again I thought we could move this to the backseat", he said and suggestively wiggled his eyebrows.

"Let's go inside and get breakfast, Mulder. The deputy will pick us up in an hour, and I would like to get breakfast and take a shower before that."

"Alright, I guess" he said and they got out of the car.

"You could join me in the shower, if you want", Scully whispered just before they entered the house.

Mulder couldn't help but smirk at this remark. He loved it when Scully talked dirty and suggestive. Just the tone of her voice was so seductive, that it didn't really matter what she said.

They both ate their breakfast rather quick, and Bill didn't even look at them. He was so embarrassed. This didn't bother Mulder and Scully though. He keeping out of their business was certainly relieving.

* * *

Deputy Ingalls honked the horn as he parked in front of the house. The second he had done this he saw Mulder and Scully leave the house. They looked happier than last night. He didn't need an oxford exam in human behavior to figure out how they had spent their morning. He liked these two. Dr. Scully seems to have everything under control. Including herself. She didn't seem like the kind of person who ever did anything ill considered and he thought that if she wasn't twenty years older than him he would have asked her out. She probably would have turned him down. She didn't seem easy like the girls he had been out with. She would be hard to get, and a man would really have to prove his worth to win her heart. This made Mulder even more of a hero. Deputy Ingalls had never knows his own dad, but he wished he was just like Mulder. He had been an FBI agent once, the deputy knew that. This meant he had to be an excellent detective. A real role model. This was how he saw Mulder. As the man he once hoped to be. He wondered if Mulder and Scully had any kids. He hadn't seen a ring on their hands, but he could tell they were together.

"Good morning, deputy Ingalls", Scully said as she sat next to him in the passenger seat. Mulder, who had opened the door for her, sat in the back.

"Good morning, Dr. Scully", he said and gave her a nice smile. "Morning, Mr. Mulder"

"Morning deputy" Mulder greeted back. "Are we going to the Hanson's now?"

"Yup. They doesn't live far from here. Like five minutes", he said and began to drive. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah sure." Mulder told him a bit surprised.

"Well, I just thought with you having been Federal agents and all… you must have lots of cases like this. I was just wondering – how can you be sure you got the right guy? I mean, I know that evidences are needed, but how can you really be sure?"

"That's a very good question, deputy. And one that shows you'll be a good detective one day. It's evident you ask yourself that question. But a true investigator knows when he got the right guy. You can feel it. Most people just look at the evidence and make decisions based on that. Sometimes it will feel right, and it isn't the right guy anyway. This can confuse you, but just call them as you see them. Try and stick to the rules, but if it seems like there's a better way to do things, then do it your own way." Mulder said as he saw a million cases flashback.

"Have you ever broken the rules?" he asked and this made Scully laugh.

"I may have done things a bit different than how the bureau would have seen it done. But I almost always solved my cases. With Scully's help of course." He said and could feel her smiling.

"Were you two partners? Isn't that against the rules?" the deputy asked confused.

"Yes it is. And that's why we never were… more than friends, when we were partners." Scully said.

"Oh I see. So why did you leave the bureau?"

"That's a more complicated story. I got fired, and Scully left to work as a doctor. That's pretty much the basics", Mulder said half telling the truth, leaving his death penalty out.

"Is this it?" Scully asked, trying to change subject.

"Uhm… yup, this is the Hanson's residence", the deputy confirmed.

As the three made their way to the front door a young girl watched them from her window in her room. She knew who the deputy were. The two others she didn't know. They looked serious and formal. Like FBI agents. She was a smart girl and she had seen people like them on the TV. When she heard them being let in by her father she turned her gaze to her desk and cried. It seemed she didn't do much else these days. On her desk was a picture of Vince. She hadn't took it down when he left her. She had hated him. She had been so angry. But she had never removed the picture. She moved to her desk, and picked it up.

"How could you?" she asked him. "You're such a stupid fool. I gave myself to you, and did I get in return?" she threw the picture across the room where it hit the wall and the glass frame broke into a million pieces. She didn't care what those people downstairs thought. All she cared about now, was dead. The day she had found out about Laura 'Slut' Adams she had had nothing to live for anymore.

* * *

_As always your thoughts on this chapter is much appreciated :)_


	10. Protection or seperation

_Author's note:  
Thought I would make a quick update! Hope you guys like this chapter. There is a 'flashback/memory' from The Post-Modern Prometheus :)_

* * *

Chapter 10 – Protection or separation

The man opening the door was a large and rather scary man. He was tall, even taller than Mulder, and he had a thick and bushy moustache. His hair was the darkest black ever seen on a man his age. There wasn't even a hint of grey in it, even though he seemed to be in his fifties. Scully felt very small standing before this man, and if she had been following her instincts she would have hidden behind Mulder. Mr. Hanson had deep wrinkles in his forehead as he frowned at the deputy.

"What are you doing here, Woody? And who are you friends?" he asked and looked with unbelievable cold dark eyes direct into Scully's.

"Good morning, Mr. Hanson", deputy Ingalls started greeting him. "I know you've heard about the murder on Vince Kane, and it has come to our attention that you had a quarrel with the deceased."

"Oh! Well come on in, and I will tell you about it", he said as he began to walk back inside the house. He added over his shoulder as he walked towards the living room: "But I can tell you, it wasn't really a quarrel. It was more like a threat, actually!"

There was something very off about this man. Both Mulder and Scully could feel it. Maybe it was just his intimidating looks.

"So who's these two?" Mr. Hanson asked the deputy and nodded his head towards Mulder and Scully.

"They are former federal agents helping us out with this case. That's Mulder and she's Dr. Scully", deputy Ingalls introduced them.

Suddenly they heard something fall and brake upstairs. It sounded like it had fell with incredible force.

"That's probably just my daughter. She's a bit clumsy." Mr. Hanson told them as they seated in the room. "Actually she's the reason I threatened that Kane-boy. I knew she had had a boyfriend for a while, she had told me as much. I didn't know it was him, though. Then the relationship would have ended a lot faster, that's for sure. Then he wouldn't have broken my little girl's heart, by cheating on her. She didn't tell me that though, but I heard her talk on the phone with her mom. She tells her everything…"

"You're divorced?" Scully asked.

"No. We never got married. We've never even lived together. Actually it was just a flirt for starters, but then she told me she was pregnant. I am not one to run from my responsibility, so I asked her to marry me. She just laughed and told me it wasn't necessary. She even said I could _have_ the baby, when I said I would like to take part in my child's life."

Mulder and Scully looked a bit startled at each other. What kind of a mother would give her child away like that?

"Would it be alright if I had a talk with your daughter, Mr. Hanson?" Scully asked to break the silence.

"Why?" he said and looked directly at Scully again. This man gave her the creeps.

"Maybe she knows if someone would have wanted Vince Kane and Laura Adams dead."

"Laura Adams?" he asked eyes wide open. "She's dead too?"

"We found her very early this morning", the deputy told Mr. Hanson.

"Oh… well you can go talk to Georgia. She's upstairs in her room. It's the first door on the right", he told Scully.

* * *

"Did Mr. Adams have anything important to contribute with then?" Scully asked in the car as they headed towards the police station.

"Nope. He was working on the night Vince Kane was murdered. Since that's the only murder he has a motive for committing, I don't think he's our guy", the deputy told her.

"What about the girl? What did she say?" Mulder asked from the backseat sounding interested.

"She isn't really much of a talker. She answered most of my questions with 'uh-huh' and 'I don't know'. She must still be in shock. When I mentioned her mother she looked funny at me."

"Funny? Funny how?" Mulder asked now truly intrigued.

"Like I wasn't supposed to talk about her. I don't know, maybe it's just me. Anyway, she told me her mother lives in a town only a few miles from here, but that they mostly talk by phone." Scully told them.

When they arrived at the station they saw the sheriff awaiting them. He looked pale, and it looked as if the amount of grey hair on his head had doubled overnight. From the looks of it he hadn't slept all night nor had he shaved. He walked towards them as soon as they stepped out of the car.

"Have you talked to the Adams' yet?" he asked.

"No, sir. We have been talking to Eric and Georgia Hanson, but we were on our way to the Adams' now", the deputy told his sheriff.

"Eric and his daughter?" he asked confused. "Why on earth have you been talking to them?"

"Well, we found a diary belonging to Vince Kane in his room yesterday. It revealed that he had been involved with the daughter. It had ended badly and Mr. Hanson had threatened Vince Kane", he told the sheriff who seemed surprised by this information.

"So have you made an arrest?"

"No. Mr. Hanson had an alibi for the night of Vince Kane's murder."

"Oh! Then let's drive to the Adams', and see if they have any useful information", sheriff Groban said almost sounding disappointed.

* * *

Later that night Mulder and Scully got a ride home with the deputy. Sheriff Groban, who had been acting weird all day, had spilled some coffee on the front seat, therefore Mulder and Scully both sad in the back. The deputy turned the car stereo on and the sweet sound of Cher's 'Walking in Memphis' filled the car and the former agents' hearts with joy over a distant memory. Mulder lazed fingers with Scully and smiled loving at her. Deputy Ingalls was singing along in a low voice, and he didn't seem to pay attention to them. Mulder lent in on Scully and gave her a gentle yet passionate kiss. Just like he had wanted to do it over ten years ago, but hadn't had the guts to. He remembered her body pressed against his as they danced together for the first time. It had been pure ecstasy and material for many lonely nights.

"I love you", Scully whispered so low that the deputy couldn't hear it.

Few moments later they arrived at Charlie's again. They agreed that the deputy picked them up again the next day, since it was on his way to work anyway. They would be just in time for dinner.

"Guess what?" Naomi asked Scully as soon as she had entered the door.

"What?" Scully asked a little startled but amused by the typical teenage hysteria that was evident in Naomi's voice and behavior.

"Damien's eating here for dinner. He's really here!" she told her aunt proudly and made a girlish scream.

"That's nice. Then I can finally meet this _dreamy Damien_ of yours", Scully responded with a wink.

This made Naomi laugh before she rushed back to the living room, not wanting to let Damien be in there alone for a too long time.

"That's sweet", Mulder commented as Naomi had left them.

"Yeah. To be young and in love…"

"Hey! I may not be young, but I am rather loveable", Mulder said sounding offended.

"Oh really? And what on earth made you believe that?"

"You've told me that, Scully. Remember in the car before. And the other night, when you raped me, and in the shower this morning", Mulder answered feeling proud of himself.

"Mulder! That was hardly a rape!" she said and rolled her eyes at him.

"Yeah it was, Scully… it was against my will!" he objected.

"Then why am I the one who got hurt", she said and pulled her shirt down over her shoulder revealing a very blue and red bite mark. Just as she did this Maggie walked into the hallway.

"Oh, Dana!" she exclaimed and widened her eyes. "Has the killer you're chasing done this? Oh, Dana, it looks so violent!"

"You should get a doctor to look at that, Dana!" said Bill who had just walked in too, as he had heard his mother's raised voice.

"It's okay, you guys. It's not that bad, really. And _I_ am a doctor!" she said, as Mulder tried not to blush. Scully's cheeks though, were already the same color as her hair.

Bill saw his sister's blush clearly and Mulder's avoiding eyes. 'Oh no!' he thought. They really shouldn't have done that. Bill was going to have another talk with Mulder.

"Well, let's join the rest of the family in the dining room. Naomi has a special dinner guest tonight, and she is very nervous", Maggie said and leaded the way to dinner.

Just as Mulder was about to walk into the room following Scully he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. It was of course Bill who had stopped him to have another chat.

"I thought we had a deal?" Bill said in a threatening but low voice.

"I know. And we do. I haven't done anything, Bill… I mean… I didn't want to, but then she said she would just be quiet and I…"

"Oh, jeez, Mulder! Don't go into details. It's enough that I've had to hear it!" he said and made a grimace.

"Sorry", Mulder simply uttered before they joined the rest of the family for dinner.

Naomi seemed unbelievable happy during the whole dinner. Damien seemed like a sweet guy, and it was clear to everyone that he was very much smitten by Naomi. Everyone seemed to like him, except Charlie. He didn't seem to keen on the idea of his little girl joining the infamous world of dating and boys. It had to be something running in the family, Mulder thought to himself as he saw Bill trying to ignore the pictures that kept creeping into his head.

* * *

"You'll never guess what I just found out!" Scully stated as she sat down on the bed next to Mulder.

"What is it?" he asked fascinated.

"Sheriff Groban has a daughter named Polly, like the girl in the diary. And nobody knows who her mother is. When the sheriff came to the town fifteen years ago he had her with him. He married a couple of years later and had a second daughter, but nobody has ever even seen Polly's mother", Scully told him enthusiastic.

"Well, she could have died", Mulder stated.

"Nope. Naomi has heard her talk on the phone with her once. They go to the same school."

"That's much like Georgia and her mom. Do you think there is a connection?" Mulder asked already having a theory.

"There has to be. Two girls living not ten minutes from each other having the exact same unnatural relationship with their mom. That's too peculiar!"

"We need to investigate this tomorrow. I think the deputy will go along with it, even though the sheriff is involved. He really seems like a nice guy. He seems intelligent too", Mulder admitted to Scully.

"Yeah, I like him too. He seems right", she said and got an agreeing nod from Mulder. They sat like that – quiet – a bit thinking to themselves.

"By the way. What did Bill want to talk to you about?" she asked Mulder.

"He figured out, how you got that bite mark, and just wanted me to lay off. I tried to explain that it was you who seduced me, but he cut me off", Mulder told her.

"What? You can't tell him that, Mulder! He thinks I'm still a little girl. A perfect little catholic, who would never even suggest a such thing", she said in an angel like voice.

"No way, Scully. Not after having heard us make love. Do you even know how loud you can be? And how dirty you talk?" he asked.

"Mulder! That's just because you're so…" she leaned her whole body up against his, so her mouth was dangerously near. "So irresistible", she whispered causing his whole body to react as her lips lingered against his.

"Mmh", he moaned, not able to get anything else pass his lips.

"Are you sure you can live the rest of the week in celibacy?" she said as her hand pushed him down towards the bed. Mulder too weak to resist.

"We shouldn't", was all he could manage to whisper.

"You don't want me, Mr. Mulder?" she asked sitting on top of him throwing her shirt to the floor.

"Scuuulllyy!" he exclaimed as she moved her hips on his growing member. She could feel it through his pants.

"We have the upper floor to ourselves for at least a few hours, before the others go to bed. Let's make the most of it", she whispered softly in his ear biting his earlobe.

He responded by rolling on top of her as he kissed her passionate. The only thing that had ever taken Mulder's mind of a case had been Scully. He remembered being able to stand at a crime scene getting lost in those deep blue eyes of hers, and forgetting everything about where he was and what he was doing. The thing about her that had the deepest impact on him had to be her laughter. Whenever he heard that he knew everything was okay. Scully laughed when she was happy, and only then. She could smile if she was unhappy, but never laugh.

* * *

The creature moved through the night with incredible speed. Driven by the hate of the human inside. It stopped at a small house similar to the rest of the houses on the street. It sensed it's victim. As fast as it had moved before, just as gracefully did it sneak up to the house now. There was no way back – once the creature had been awakened there was no turning back. As the girl went out the backdoor and moved to a swing, where she usually sat and looked up at the stars while thinking, she could feel someone, something's presence. 'Anybody there?' she had called out. And just as she had turned to go back in, the creature jumped her. The first thing it hit was her neck, which was left with deep cuts from the claws while the blood colored her white jacket. It didn't take the young girl long to die. But her last seconds were filled with pain and hurt, as she cried out her final scream for the only one who came into mind; 'Vince'.

* * *

_Reviews much appreciated :) _


	11. Realizations

_Author's note:_  
_Reference to 'Schizogeny' - but probably hard to pick up, do tell me if you can find it. (Hint: It's one of Mulder's line)_

* * *

Chapter 11 – Realizations

"There's been another murder!" deputy Ingalls informed them as he picked Mulder and Scully up.

"Jump in and I'll give you the details on the way to the crime scene", he said, and they got in the car.

One thing Scully hadn't suspected was that the victim was Georgia Hanson. In her mind Scully had had her down as a suspect, even though she was only 20 years old, Scully had thought the betrayal the girl had experienced could have made her commit such a crime. Even though the murders had been extreme violent and Georgia wasn't very muscular or strong, she could easily have committed the crimes. All she would need was really just some long and sharp claws – or clawlike objects – and much force didn't need to be put into the attack. Mulder however didn't seem very surprised by the turn this case had taken. As always he was one step ahead of Scully.

Deputy Ingalls had pretty much taken over this whole case, due to the fact that the sheriff's daughter was once again sick. While the deputy was talking to some of the reporters, trying to get them to understand the case and get the facts right, Mulder turned to Scully.

"What do you think, Scully?" he asked her as they walked away from the crime scene.

"Well… you mean do I still believe this isn't an x-file?" he nodded and she continued: "If it had been a werewolf, don't you think it's a bit weird that there's a connection between all the victims? This can hardly be random victims when they've all been somehow involved with each other", Scully stated.

This made Mulder think for a little while. It was rather different than their last werewolf case. Then the victims had been random. It was pretty clear that they weren't just random in this case, though. Mulder didn't know a lot about math or statistics, but he was pretty sure all odds were against it being random that the victims knew each other.

"Alright, Scully. I have an idea, but you're going to think it's stupid!" Mulder finally confessed.

"I know I am, but you better tell me anyway", she said truthfully knowing this stupid theory was probably exactly what was happening.

"You see, Scully, originally werewolves wasn't just thought to be ordinary human beings. The humans transforming into werewolves did it by consuming a potion. They were wizards and witches. Once turned into the beast they would become out of control, only remembering the last feeling they had as a human. If this feeling was anger towards someone, the beast would instinctively hunt this person down and kill it", Mulder's eyes were burning into Scully's as he told her the information he had been keeping secret, as he had tried to figure out how it was connected with the case.

"It does sound stupid, Mulder. And even if it was the truth, who would be the murderer? We haven't bumped into any wizards or witches recently", Scully said, not letting on, that she really did believe this to be the truth. She couldn't – she had to make him keep working on convincing her in order to make him figure out the whole truth.

"Well, I thought about how Mr. Hanson told us that Georgia's mother had told him he could have the child and it made me think: What can get a mother to give up her child? And that's when it hit me."

"She did it to protect the child", Scully interrupted him with a sad look upon her face.

"Uh… yeah… she didn't want the kid to be a witch like her, is my theory. Hoping that the girl had gotten her father's genes, she sought it best not to awaken them by being present. I think it worked with Georgia. She probably wasn't a witch. She might have had some paranormal abilities, but not getting any form of training kept her from developing these abilities. However, the mother wasn't as lucky with her second daughter", Mulder stated as if this was the pure truth. No one could convince him otherwise now.

"You think that the person guilty for these crimes is the 18-year-old Polly, the sheriff's daughter?"

"I do, Scully", Mulder answered.

Scully thought for a moment. She knew this had been inevitably since they got involved with this case. "Then we better get Deputy Ingalls and have a talk with the girl", she told him slightly smiling.

"Thanks", was all he said and then he squeezed her hand to reassure her she was doing the right thing.

* * *

"Are you kidding me? 'Cause I don't find this funny!" was the only thing Deputy Ingalls could say after Mulder had explained his theory to him.

"I know it sounds stupid, Ingalls, but you need to trust me. I've dealt with these kinds of cases a million times before and I have rarely been wrong", Mulder tried to calm him down.

"These kinds of cases? What exactly was it you did when you worked for the FBI?" Ingalls had never been a disbeliever in the paranormal, but he had never thought he would have to experience a thing like this so close.

"We worked on a special unit called the X-files. We dealt with the occult and the paranormal every day. When Scully was first assigned to me, she was so to debunk me. They never thought a scientist such as herself would believe a believer like me."

"But the things I saw, working with Mulder, were things that science holds little explaining to. I saw that the world, the universe, was more than I had ever imagined or dared to believe. I have seen UFO's, I've been abducted and given a bad cancer, and I have had to give up my child to keep him from being hurt by people in the government. There are conspiracies deep within our own American government involving all of mankind. This case could hold answers that would get the people to open their eyes to such things, and make them see what the government has held a secret to us for a long time", Scully said eyes welling up from the memories of this whole thing.

Mulder was a bit turned on. He had never heard Scully talk like this. Like a believer. She always had to maintain the scientific part of their team, but now he had finally seen how she really felt. The deputy was quiet for a while before finally answering.

"Alright. I believe you. And I'm willing to find out if Polly is the daughter of a witch. But how are we going to this? The sheriff probably won't let us near her, if he knows and is trying to protect her."

"If you call him down to the station, then Scully and I are gonna talk to her. Just tell him that it's some kind of emergency", Mulder told the deputy.

"Alright. I can call him down to the station, but I am going with you. I don't need to be at the station for him to be there, and if you find any evidence it's best that I'm with you."

"Okay. Let's do it!" Mulder said enthusiastic.

As they walked over to the car from the crime scene Mulder took his arm around Scully and whispered in her ear.

"Are you okay with this, Scully?"

"Yeah, Mulder, I'm fine. Just a bit startled at how fast Ingalls believed us."

"He's always been a believer. He didn't need as much convincing as you did", Mulder answered her smiling.

"How do you know he's always been a believer? He could be working for the conspiracy!" Scully said not really believing Ingalls to be one of them.

"I know he's a believer, Scully. I could feel it, as soon as I met him. He's a nice guy", Mulder said feeling some weird need to protect Ingalls even though Scully was just joking.

"Maybe we could adopt him", Scully joked, feeling Mulder's fatherly side emerging whenever they talked about Ingalls.

Mulder just laughed at her and held the car door for her as she got in the front of the vehicle.

* * *

As they saw the sheriff drive towards the station they turned around the corner and parked in front of the house. There was a silhouette moving around in a room on the upper floor of the house. Since Deputy Ingalls had visited the family a lot during the past years he could inform them that the room with the silhouette in was, as presumed, Polly Groban's room.

Mulder knocked on the door. No answer. He tried again this time a bit harder and more persistent. He jiggled the handle but the door was locked. He looked back at Ingalls.

"We can't break in, Mr. Mulder!" he answered the question being asked telepathically.

"Alright then. Is there a backdoor?" Mulder asked knowing there would, really just asking if Ingalls was up to sneak in undetected.

"Well… yeah, there is", Ingalls looked at Scully for some kind of backup, but knew it was a lost course. She only looked at him with her beautiful blue eyes, and he knew he couldn't say no.

"Come on. I'll lead the way", the deputy sighed.

They moved around the back, but just as they were about to enter the unlocked door a weird smell met their nostrils.

"You smell that, Scully?" Mulder asked.

"Yeah. I think it is coming from the tree over there", she answered him and they moved towards the tree. There was a tree house in top of it. The rank was definitely becoming stronger the closer they moved towards it.

"Should we climb up?" Ingalls asked them not really having tried anything like this ever before.

"Let me go first. Scully loves my displays of boyish agility", Mulder said and winked at Scully.

Scully blushed slightly by this comment but Ingalls just smiled. When Scully watched Mulder climb up the steps nailed to the tree she had to admit to herself that his ass looked really good in those jeans. Her thought were cut off when Mulder reached the top.

"Eww… this is really gross. Come have a look, Scully", Mulder shouted down from the tree house.

Now it was Ingalls turn to admire the view. Her ass looked pretty good in those jeans too. If it wasn't for Mulder, Ingalls would definitely have made a move on her. No matter the age difference.

"What do you think this is, Scully", Mulder asked her as she had made it to the top as well.

"It looks like a potion, alright. I don't know what's in here, but it smells dead and rotten", Scully said while she held a hand to cover her nose.

"There's some jars over there", Ingalls, who had just climbed the tree too, informed them.

Mulder took the four jars from the dark corner and handed them to Scully. Two of the jars he could pretty much see what contained. The one was filled with blood. Dark, thick blood. The other with some herbs, which looked very unfamiliar to Mulder.

"Oh my God!" Scully exclaimed. "I think it's fat."

"Fat?" Ingalls asked not knowing how on earth he had gotten himself into this whole thing. "Fat from what?"

"Probably a human. And this looks like some kind of animal skin. Maybe from a cat or a rabbit", Scully informed them.

"So is this the stuff that made her a… werewolf? Would I become one if I drank it now?" the deputy asked.

"Yes, this is her potion. But I don't think it affects regular people. It's a witch's potion, which only works on witches", Mulder tried to explain.

"Alright, I'll get a sample of this potion and we can get it looked at", Scully said in a much calmer voice than Ingalls.

When they had climbed down the tree again they walked towards the street again but were stopped by a girl. She had black hair and really dark eyes. Scully could see small similarities to Georgia Hanson but they didn't look alike to a person who wouldn't know to look for these similarities.

"What you doing here?" she asked cold.

"Hi Polly. We just find some disturbing things in the tree house up there. You wouldn't know anything about that now, would you?" Ingalls said.

"I might", she answered mysteriously and walked closer to them.

"So… these people some new friends of yours, Woody?"

"They are helping your dad and me with a case. He's Mulder, she's Scully. I thought your dad told you 'bout them?" Ingalls kept talking to her with an accusing tone in his voice. Just like Mulder would have done it.

"He might have", Polly said now close up to them.

"Are you a witch, Polly?" Scully asked her shocking everybody. Finally Polly was silent and her eyes shifted towards the three people.

"Do you know your mother is a witch too? Is she the one who told you how to brew that potion in the tree house?" Scully kept on, the girl's eyes widening more and more as Scully spoke.

"You don't know anything about me. Or my mother", she yelled at them.

"They all deserved it. Everyone of them. He didn't love me. He said he loved another girl. First I thought it was Laura. Everybody in town told me they were together. It was only after her murder I found out that it was Georgia who was the person he loved. That little slut. Always doing better than me. Impossible to live up to. Our mother told me that she wished I had turned out as Georgia. A normal person. But fortunately I am not normal. And you can't prove that I'm the murderer. No one would ever believe me to be a witch", she spat at them.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, Polly. There are machines that can read the amount of energy in your body. When this energy is as high as yours will be, you can determine if a person have paranormal abilities. This method isn't known to the public because, as you can imagine, the government likes to keep these 'special persons' a secret", Scully lied to her. Polly however seemed to believe her. If she was a witch, it seemed pretty plausible that there could be others. And that the government might have investigated these people.

* * *

"I heard you solved the case", Maggie said as they walked into the living room.

"Yeah, mom. We did. Turned out it was a witch which had made a potion to make herself a werewolf in order to get back at her cheating boyfriend and his lovers", Scully answered in an everyday tone.

"Another day at the office", Maggie laughed.

"Yup. They offered Mulder and me a job as consultants for the police here."

"Really. That sounds interesting. Are going to take the job?" Maggie was now truly intrigued.

"We'll be thinking about it. We might", she answered and pecked her mom on the cheek.

"But I think we're going to bed now, mom. We've had a long day", she said and walked over to Mulder who waited for her in the door.

"Good night, Maggie", he said polite as always.

"Good night. And I'm glad you finally called me Maggie instead of Mrs. Scully. Thanks Fox."

"You're welcome, Mrs. Scully", he said and winked at her before they left the room.

* * *

_Know this chapter is a bit long, but thought I would make up for the long update (this time I have a good explanation though: I was in Florence, Italy and didn't have computer access) - but please tell if you're still reading :)_


	12. Explanations

_Author's note:  
Sorry if the update has been long. Have been buys reading fantastic fanfiction ;)_

* * *

Chapter 12 – Explanations

So it turned out that Polly Groban was the murderer. It had been hard to get her to talk at the police station, but when she heard that her mother, Akasha, had fled and was nowhere to be found, she broke. She had thought her own mother was going to stick up for her, but she realized that the only one who cared for her was her father. He went to jail too, for protecting her. The remedies for the weird potion they found in the tree house had been pretty easy for Polly to get. The blood and the fat she had gained from the hospital where her stepmother worked. She had used her stepmom's security card to get in and out of the building and the secured zones late one night and nobody had noticed her. The animal skin turned out to be from a cat. She had simply broken the neck on some stray cats in the neighborhood. The herbs had her own mother provided for her. This was probably the reason she had fled. She knew that she was going to end behind bars, and she loved her freedom more than her daughter.

It had been a long day but Mulder and Scully couldn't fall asleep. Maybe it was because of the adrenaline from being involved in a case, maybe it was the thousands of cups of coffee they had been drinking at the station or maybe it was the offer of getting back into the game once again. It wasn't the X-files, but the thought of being consultants for the Houston Police Department held some interest to them. Scully could still practice as a doctor in Texas and Mulder would have something to do.

"Would you like to live in Texas, Mulder?" Scully finally talked breaking the long thinking pause.

"I wouldn't mind. Would you, Scully?" he asked and turned focus from the ceiling to Scully laying next to him in the bed.

"I think I would like it here. I'm a bit tired of Father Ybarra anyway. That guy creeps me out", she honestly told him.

"That's no way to talk of a man serving God, Dana Scully!" Mulder joked and smirked. "There's no room in Heaven for blasphemists like you!"

"He may be serving God but not the same God as me. I really think living in celibacy has made him weird, 'cause there is no way he has always been so stuck up like this. Someone would have killed him long before!" she said only half joking.

"Speaking of celibacy…" was all Mulder got to say before Scully cut him off.

"Wanna rumble?" she said in a suggestive tone and smiling the most sexy and beautiful smile ever.

"As much as I would love that, it wasn't what I was going to say", Mulder smiled at her. "I was just wondering about Reverend Kane. Well, I thought that he, as a reverend, would have to live in celibacy, when he's a catholic. But he's married and has kids."

"Reverends can get special dispensation from the pope to marry. I guess he has. Or else he was married before he became a reverend", Scully answered. "But you're right. Otherwise a reverend has to live in celibacy."

"Interesting", Mulder commented.

They lay on the bed thinking to themselves some more. It had been a while since they had had so much to think about. Now it was 1:34 AM.

"Do you think we'll ever sleep?" Scully asked clearly annoyed that she wasn't able to sleep. She had never had any problems before.

"I don't know. I haven't had this much trouble getting to sleep since my insomniac days", he confessed.

"When did you stop being an insomniac?" she asked just to pass the time.

"That night in Roswell. When we first slept in the same bed all night long. Since then there hasn't really been any trouble. I think it's just all this stuff about being a detective again that keeps popping into my head."

"So I cured your insomniac?" she asked a bit surprised.

"I guess you did. I felt safe with you. I've never had it like that with anyone before. Why do you think we are so good together, Scully?" he asked wanting to pass the time too, and thought he might as well do it with something interesting.

"Maybe it's because we were friends before we were lovers. Because we're still friends. Best friends. And also because of all those things we've been through together when we worked for the bureau", she said beginning to sound more on the edge of falling to sleep.

"Yeah. Because we share so many experiences. Because we share a child. Even though he isn't with us, he is still a part of us. He always will be. Even though we might never see him again."

"We'll see him again someday, Mulder", Scully said.

"I know we will, Scully. I know we will!"

These were the last words they spoke before Scully fell asleep. Not long after Mulder slept too. Guess all he needed to sleep was knowing that Scully slept. That she was safe.

* * *

"Where do babies come from?"

"What?" Mulder asked surprised by Matt's question.

"My mom said that it's when someone two people who loves each other kisses then magic appears, and the lady becomes pregnant."

"That's right. Ehm… what your mother said… that's the truth", Mulder told him as he hoped someone would join them in the living room.

"I love my mom, but she has never been pregnant when I have kissed her!" he stated and looked at Mulder with his big blue eyes, not sensing Mulder's dislike in topic of questions.

"Well… that's because you love your mother, but you're not in love with her. You need to be in love… and you need to be an adult. Children can't have children, you understand that, right?"

"Yeah. That's a good thing. Or else both Katie and Bella from my class would be pregnant!" he told Mulder kind of relieved.

Mulder laughed at this. "You have a girlfriend, Mattie?"

"No!" now Matt's cheeks turned a bit red, but soon he smirked. "I have two", he then proudly told Mulder.

"Wauw. Mr. Popularity, huh? Then I don't have to teach my nephew any pickup lines!"

"No… I mean yeah. You could do that. I would like to have Emma as my girlfriend too, but I don't think she likes me! You could teach me how to me more like you. Then she would want me!"

"Matt, I don't think you should have more than one girlfriend at a time. And it should be the one you like the best or no one. And it wouldn't help you to be like me!"

"It would! You have one of the prettiest women in the whole world! You have to be special!" Matt frowned.

"Trust me I'm not", Mulder now squatted so he was more the same height as Matt. "The special one is your aunt. And I don't care that she's pretty. I care that she likes me and that she's a nice person. That's why I love her. It's not because she's pretty."

"Oh… I see. Girls are complicated!"

"Yeah", Mulder laughed and got up.

"Hi boys. Whatcha doin'?" Scully asked as she entered the room and saw the smile on Mulder's gorgeous face.

"Uncle Mulder told me where the babies come from, and explained girls to me!" Matt proudly stated.

"He did?" Scully asked worried. "And what did Uncle Mulder tell you, Matt?"

"That you can't have babies with your mother unless you're in love with her, and that he doesn't think you're pretty but nice."

"No, Matt! I said I didn't lover her because she's pretty, but because she's nice person!" Mulder tried to save himself.

"Oh.. Yeah!" Matt said.

"Could you go see your grandma in the kitchen, Matt? She wants to see you before we have to fly out tonight."

"Okay", Matt said and ran to the kitchen.

"It's not as bad as it sounds, Scully, I assure you!" Mulder instantly tried to explain.

"Just tell me exactly what you said to him, Mulder, and I'll see if we owe his parents money to pay for his psychologist."

As Mulder began to explain Scully's mood lightened up, and she laughed at how Matt had interpreted the whole conversation.

"He's such a funny kid!" Scully finally laughed when Mulder was done with the story.

"Yeah. I'm gonna miss him, when we head back. Maybe we can visit them more often, now I'm not wanted anymore. At least when they're visiting Maggie. Do they visit her a lot?"

"Yes, they do. They had been staying there a few days when they picked us up. We'll also be able to visit my mother some more."

"Well, that is if we decide to stay in Virginia. If we move to Texas, California will be a lot closer, but it's gonna be hard to visit your mom!" Mulder thought out loud.

"That's right. But maybe we can get her to move to Texas too. Most of her friends back home have passed away anyway. And she would live closer to the rest of the family too", Scully said.

"It would be nice, to have family close to us the whole time! I think we should move here, Scully!"

"Yeah, Mulder! I think so too!" she agreed smiling.

"Really?" Mulder couldn't believe they had just made such an important decision basically over night.

"Yeah, really!"

Mulder and Scully hugged. It was a long and warm hug, filled with love. Scully felt Mulder's hands slipping further and further down her back until they finally rested on her but.

"What are you doing, Mulder?" she whispered into his chest.

"I'm hugging you!" he answered as his hands slid up to rest on her hips.

She pulled away from the hug and looked him in the eyes. He was happy. She could see that clearly but there was something else hiding in those deep eyes of his. It was lust. She felt it in her own eyes too. She felt it in her whole body. Her whole existence wanted to be with him. And she knew he felt the exact same way.

"The others talked about catching a movie the last day we're here. But maybe we should stay home?" she suggested while she tickled him with her fingers at his neck.

"Mmh… I would love that", he said with a husky voice.

Just as they were about to kiss Bill appeared in the room.

"Hey… what's up?" he asked trying to ruin their moods.

"Not much", Mulder said with an arm around Scully's waist.

"Are you coming to the movies? We're gonna watch 'How the Grinch stole Christmas'!"

"Thanks, but no thanks. We're just gonna stay here and…" Scully looked up at Mulder for some help.

"…and pack!" he finished for her.

"Oh!" Bill said. "Well… see ya' guys later then."

"Yeah, see ya' Bill!"

* * *

"So… finally alone, Mulder", Scully said as she walked towards Mulder in the kitchen.

"Yeah. Finally!"

Scully threw her sweater as she walked towards him, standing before him in her black lace bra.

"That's the underwear I got you for your birthday, Scully!" he remembered.

"No! It's the one you got me the day after my birthday!" she remembered, yet smiling.

"You're not still mad at me for that, are you, Scully?" he asked smiling as he ran his fingers over her naked back while kissing her neck.

"You'll just have to make up for it now, Mulder."

"I can do that…" he said continuing the trail of kisses down to her breast and further down her stomach, until he was on his knees, unzipping her jeans.

This was the moment when Deputy Ingalls chose to announce his presence by coughing loudly.

"Ingalls!" Mulder exclaimed surprised as he got up from the floor, and covered Scully who stood shirtless in the kitchen.

"I'm sorry to… disturb, like this. I just wanted to come over here and say goodbye before you had to go", he tried to explain.

"Oh, I see. Well, if you could just wait in the other room, while we… ehhh…" Mulder tried to find the words.

"Yeah sure thing, Mr. Mulder. I'll wait", he said and left them, not at all sorry for having seen the wonderful Dana Scully in a bra.

"Guess, we gave him something to think about!" Mulder tried to joke.

"That was so embarrassing!" Scully said as she pulled her sweater back on and zipped her jeans.

"Why?" Mulder asked. "You look stunning. You have nothing to be embarrassed about!"

"Thanks, Mulder", she said and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before they met the deputy in the living room. As it turned out he wasn't a deputy anymore.

"Since I solved this case they made me sheriff. I don't think I had a lot to do with the solving, that was pretty much the two of you, but I'm glad to be sheriff", Ingalls proudly told them as he showed them the star on his uniform.

"That's really great, Ingalls. And we only helped you. You did the most", Mulder told him.

"Well, I don't know 'bout that. But did you think about the job offer you were given?"

"We're gonna take it, so you're gonna be seeing a lot more of us", Mulder happily told him. "Well, you're hopefully not gonna see more of Scully, since you already seen the most, but…" Mulder joked earning a slap on the arm from Scully and making Ingalls blush.

"Well, I'm happy to see you again. You are the most skilled people I've ever worked with, and I think you are some pretty nice people too", Ingalls confessed.

"We think you're _pretty nice_ yourself, Woody", Scully told him and smiled.

When Ingalls blushed was when Mulder found out. Ingalls had a crush on Scully. First he felt a little weird. It was like his younger brother having a crush on your wife. But then he thought; I can't blame him, Scully is an extraordinary woman.

Ingalls stayed for some time. They had a cup of coffee and talked about old cases. Ingalls found the flukeman especially interesting, which Scully quite couldn't grasp. When he had left the rest of the Scully clan returned from the movie theater. Even though Mulder and Scully wanted to 'run off some steam' they didn't have the time. Now, they actually had to pack. They said their long goodbyes with the whole family. Bill, Tara and Matt had to leave a few hours after Mulder, Scully and Maggie so it was just them waiting in the airport.

Mulder and Scully could feel themselves getting more and more hot for each other. Maggie had left them alone to go to a shop and get some water for the long flight. Practically the moment she had left, they were all over each other. Mulder's right hand was on Scully's hip and the left one gripping on to the chair. Scully's hands found their way to the back of his neck while their mouths joined in a passionate kiss. They heard some woman whisper something about 'honeymoon' as she walked by to her husband. This just made them smile. And as everybody else waiting for a plane looked at the bizarre couple Mulder thought: 'It won't be long till we will be on our actual honeymoon'. And this made him, just as Scully thought it impossible, deepen the already deep kiss.

* * *

_Alright, so this is probably the second last chapter. It could function as a last chapter too, since it wraps things up. Please review and tell me what you think :)_


	13. New Years Eve

_Author's note:  
Slight spoiler for 'Millennium'. This is the last chapter of this story, hope you guys will like it :)_

* * *

Chapter 13 – New Years Eve

When she woke up that morning everything in her body tingled. It was going to be a good day. She never like New Years Eve as a child, the fireworks had scared her, but now she was okay with it. Actually it was being with Mulder she looked forward to. They were going to meet up with Skinner some place in town where they were going to stay and watch the fireworks. She would have made them a nice dinner, but Mulder had strangely insisted on cooking for her. He said it would be romantic. She agreed with him on that, but also feared that they were going to eat something burned and rather uneatable. He had never cooked while they had lived together. Not once. He had heated things she had made, and frozen meals, but never had he made a real dinner from scratch.

The clock read 10:13. She had slept longer than she had wanted to. Mulder was not by her side. He had probably gone to town on grocery shopping to buy some things for his special romantic dinner. She closed her eyes as she lie on the bed under the covers. She was beginning to feel cold. She reached for Mulder's black t-shirt and pulled it over her head. She got up and put on some panties from her drawer. Then she gathered all the spread clothes on the floor in their bedroom.

After having cleaned up the house a bit she sat down on their couch. When would Mulder be home? She was bored! She looked out the window and saw him drive up to the house. She ran outside to meet him.

"Scully? You'll be sick!" he joked as he saw her run towards him in nothing but panties and his t-shirt. He loved it when she wore his clothe.

"I missed you", she stated as she flung her arms around him before he had a chance to close the car door behind him.

"I was only gone an hour and a half, Scully…" he said and hugged her with all of his love. "But I missed you too", he admitted.

After a minute standing like this, Mulder finally said: "Run in again, Scully. Or you really will be sick!" he said and pushed her towards the door.

"Don't you need help, taking in the groceries?" she asked eyeing the three brown bags on the backseat.

"I'm a big boy, Scully. I'll handle it. Just leave the front door open, and I'll manage", he said with a macho smile. She laughed at this.

Once Mulder had succeeded to balance the three bags into the house and place them at a counter in the kitchen Scully came in again.

"At least let me help unpack, Mulder! I have nothing to do! I'm bored out of my mind!" she begged and jumped up on the counter next to the bags.

"No, Scully! I can handle it. Besides, I want it to be a surprise. You can gather my clothes in the bedroom, if you want. It's probably all over the floor, the way you threw it last night!" he winked at her.

"I've already done that, Mulder. And as I recall you began throwing my clothes. I had to gather my bra from behind the closet", she explained to him.

"Oh! Well, then you could take a shower and get dressed", he suggested.

"I want to wait with that. I don't want to walk around in my dress all day."

"Then just wear something else, until it's time to eat!"

"Then I'll have more laundry to do tomorrow", she kept on going getting Mulder nearer desperation.

"Then…" he tried to come up with something for her to do, when the phone rang. "Then go answer the phone, Scully. And let me get some work done out here!"

"Okay", she sighed and ran to pick up the phone in the living room.

"Scully", she answered.

"_Hi, Dana. It's your mother."_

"Oh! Hi, mom. What's up?"

"_Nothing. I just wanted to wish you and Fox a happy new year. How are you doing?"_

"Thanks, mom. We're fine. I'm just bored, because Mulder won't let me help with anything."

"_He's such a sweet boy. I'm glad you found a man like him, Dana. I just wished your father could have had the chance to meet him too."_

"You think dad would have liked him?" she asked. This was something she has always wondered about.

"_Just as much as I do. He would have loved him, Dana."_

"Thanks, mom. That means a lot to me. I wish they could have met too."

"_Well… I better get going. I've been invited to a small gathering at Mary Keller's."_

"I thought you hated her."

"_I don't hate anyone, Dana. But if I did, she sure would be the one. She's the only one left here, which I talk too. I really miss Maxine now."_

Maxine was her mother's friend she had known since they were 16. She passed away a couple of years ago.

"I know you do, mom. You're going to feel better when you move to Texas. Then you'll have all of your children and grandchildren close by", she tried to cheer her mom up. Maggie had suggested moving to Texas herself, and this had pleased the whole family.

"_I can't wait. I'll see you soon, darling. Happy new year."_

"Happy new year, mom", she said and hung up.

It hit her how old her mother had suddenly turned. All of her friends were dead. She felt sorry for her. Then she remembered how joyful she had been for Christmas, and she knew being with her family was going to make her feel much better. Then she worried about her and Mulder. When they turned old, they wouldn't have any family of their own. But then she thought of Naomi, Matt and the twins and knew they would always have them.

Mulder walked into the living room.

"You done unpacking?" she asked him.

"Yes I am. I'm gonna start cooking pretty soon. I think we'll be eating around 5. That leaves us some time before we're meeting with Skinner in town", he explained.

"Time to do what", she asked with a blink in her eyes as she stood leaning up against the couch.

"Whatever comes to mind", he suggested and walked slowly towards her.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and he rested his arms on the couch behind her. He gave her a quick gentle kiss on the mouth. He didn't dare to deepen it too much, afraid he'd be behind on his schedule.

"I need to get cooking now!" he said and pulled away reluctantly.

"That reminds me, I accidentally bought you something yesterday, when I bought my dress."

"You bought me something from a dress store?" he questioned.

"No, silly! It was in another store. Wait here, and I'll go get it for you", she said and stormed into the bedroom closet where she had stored it.

"I didn't have time to wrap it", she said and handed him the white bag.

"Wauw, Scully!" he said exited as he pulled the apron around his neck. On the apron was the inscription: 'Kiss the cook'.

"I know it's a bit tacky, but I just thought…"

"I like it, Scully. But since you bought it for me, you have to do what the apron says", he said in a teasing tone.

"Don't worry about that, my dear Mulder. You couldn't stop me. Apron or no apron I'll be happy to kiss the cook", she told him and gave him a kiss. It was passionate and Mulder's mind went fuzzy.

"Maybe not too much kissing today, Scully", he said short of breath. "Or else the cook won't get much cooking done", he smiled but was actually pretty serious.

"I'll try", she smiled back at him.

* * *

Mulder had the dinner ready at 5:09. He was very proud of it. None of it had burned. Some of the vegetables were chopped in bigger pieces than he had meant to chop them in, but it didn't ruin anything. It was a salmon dish he had prepared. He had never really cooked before but he had fortunately turned out to be a natural. Candles were lit in the otherwise dark room and the two plates were arranged and ready to be eaten. When should he propose? The thought hit him suddenly. He knew exactly what he was going to say but when was he going to say it? During dinner? During dessert? In between? He decided to just do it when he felt for it. But then again, he had felt for it almost twenty years. His thoughts were disturbed by Scully's voice coming from the next room.

"Chef Mulder? When are you ready? I've already been waiting for ten minutes!" she said impatient.

"You can come in now, Scully", he told her as he gave the velvet box in his pocket one last squeeze before Scully entered.

'Oh. My. God' he thought as she walked in. She looked absolutely stunning. She wore a simple black dress. It reminded a lot of the one she had worn to a movie premiere they had attended a whole decade ago. Her shoes matched her dress and they made her look a bit higher than she actually was. Jeez, he wanted to ask her right there – but it was too soon. If he asked her now, they wouldn't get to eat the food he had prepared. He needed to ask her after dinner. Because, after asking her he wouldn't be able to keep his distance.

"Wauw, Scully! You look… you look lovely. More than lovely, you look perfect!" he told not even exaggerating.

"Thanks, Mulder", she blushed. "You look very handsome yourself".

He was wearing a suit with a black butterfly. The candlelight made his eyes sparkle and the dark made the otherwise green eyes seem hazel. They sat down by the candlelit dinner.

"This really looks great, Mulder. I didn't know you could cook", she smiled at him from across the table.

"I didn't know either. Taste it, Scully", he told her and watched her bring the fork up to her beautiful little mouth.

"Mmh", she moaned and made Mulder want to taste the salmon as well and he got to admit he really had succeeded this meal very well.

"Who would have thought?" he asked rhetorically as he began to dig in.

Mulder got more and more nervous. He could feel the drops of perspiration sliding down his spine. He loosened his butterfly a bit. It wasn't the proposal and marriage he was worried about. He knew he would love nothing more than to be spending every minute of his remaining time with Scully. But was she gonna say yes? Did she even want marriage? Did she want to marry him?

"Are you okay, Mulder?" she asked a bit concerned about his rather weird behavior.

"Yeah, Scully. I'm just nervous", woops, did he just say nervous? "You know about meeting with Skinner. If we'll have anything to talk about. I'm just such a social retard."

She laughed a bit at him now. Great, she wasn't catching on. "Don't worry, Mulder. I'm sure the two of you can find something to talk about. You worked together for like a decade!"

"I worked with you! Him I worked _for_", he reminded her.

"Still, you did work together on some cases", she tried to convince him.

"I know. And a part of me is looking forward to seeing him. But another part would rather just stay home with the love of his life", he told her and took her hand.

"We can't stay home all the time, Mulder", she almost whispered.

"I know. But it would be nice if we could."

"You wouldn't want to spend every second with me, Mulder", she told him and smiled.

This was his cue, he knew that. It was now. Now or never. He was going to ask her. Should he get down on one knee? Should he give her his speech before or after he gave her the ring? Was he going to ruin everything they had? All these thought ran through his head in one second.

"I would love to spend every second for the rest of my life with you, Scully. With you and no one else. We've been through everything together. You believed me when nobody else did. You loved me even when you thought I had lost my mind. I would like to marry you, Dana Katherine Scully. The question is, would you be able to stand living with me for the rest of our lives?" he said leaving Scully speechless.

"Mulder… my Mulder", she said and got up. She walked over to him and cupped his cheeks. He stood up too and she hugged him and whispered softly into his ear: "It would make me the happiest woman on earth. Maybe even the happiest woman in the galaxy", she jested.

"Oh, Scully", he laughed and looked her in her eyes. "I was afraid you'd say no!"

"How could I say no? I love you, Mulder. You know that", she said still smiling.

"I know. I just wasn't sure anyone could want to live with me for forever. It's a long time, you know!" he honestly said and dug into his pocket.

"I have a ring, Scully", he told her and opened the box for her to see the beautiful white gold ring with an ice blue diamond matching her irresistible eyes.

"It's perfect, Mulder", she said and slipped it onto her finger. Just the right seize.

"I bought it that year I was in hiding. Living away from you and William. It was the hardest year of my life. I promised myself I would never be that alone again. Never leave you alone again. That I would be the best husband for you… and the best father for William. I know I'll never be able to keep that last part. But I'll do anything to keep the last part, Scully. I promise you."

Scully's eyes were filled with tears. She was now surer of how Mulder felt about her than ever before. She didn't know any way to respond to that. Except kiss him. And so she did. She kissed him and before she knew it they were laying on their bed. Still kissing. It had been gentle kissing. Mulder broke their kiss and stood up from the bed. Then he undressed completely. Scully did the same. Then Mulder placed himself on top of her. He removed a strand piece of hair from her forehead and looked her in her eyes.

"I'm looking forward to the rest of our lives", he told her.

They kissed slowly again. Slowly but passionate. As they made love they did it slowly too. Slow moves. Mulder's slow thrusts. Scully's matching slow rhythm. All the time their lips didn't part. It was nothing like a few days ago where they had needed it each other and found relief in the plain's restroom. That was a physical need. This was a need to express their love for each other. They were joined for hours. Mulder had never made love like this before. Nor had Scully. But as the hours went by it became hard to breath. Hard to endure the slow paste.

"I... need... release, Mulder", Scully moaned.

"Yeah…" he moaned back. "Me too."

Then he fastened the paste. His thrusts became more forceful, and they climaxed together. As they would be for the rest of their lives. Nothing could ever come between them. Nothing ever had been able to.

They had been so absorbed with each other that they hadn't noticed the fireworks that had been going on outside. Neither had they heard the phone ring. Instead they lied next to each other trying to catch their breath.

"Wauw!" Scully said. "Way to convince a girl to marry you, Mulder."

"Right back at 'cha, Mrs. Mulder", he joked.

"I like the sound of that… Mr. Scully", she laughed. "Why did you choose tonight to propose, Mulder?" she then asked a bit serious but still in a good mood.

"I didn't want to ask you when I was a wanted man. That would be like promising you something I didn't know if I would ever be able keep. And I would like to propose on New Years Eve since that's the date we first kissed. You remember back in 2000, right?"

"Yeah, I remember. The world didn't end", they laughed again.

All of the sudden someone was lurking around in the living room. They could hear the steps getting closer to their bedroom.

"What is it?" Scully whispered.

"I don't know", he whispered back.

They sat up in the bed. Scully hold the covers up to cover her nude chest. Mulder turned the lights on. Then Walter Skinner walked into their bedroom. As soon as he saw them he blushed along with them.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I got worried when you didn't show up, and the house looked empty from outside with all the lights turned off. I'm gonna go again. I'm so sorry!" he said with all of the sentences blurring together.

"Just wait in the living room, Skinner, and we'll be right with you", Mulder told him.

Skinner did as told as his red color had reached the bald top of his head.

"What time is it, Mulder", Scully asked confused.

"It's twenty minutes past midnight", he told her as he checked the alarm clock on his side of the bed. "Happy new year, Scully", he said and kissed her quick on the mouth.

"Happy new year, Mulder", she smiled at him. "We better get dressed. Skinner is waiting, remember?"

They soon got dressed and joined the still red Skinner in the living room.

"Happy new year, Skinner", Mulder said. "We're very sorry we forgot to meet you. But truth is we're celebrating more than just New Years Eve."

"Mulder asked me to marry him!" Scully interrupted and proudly showed Skinner the ring.

"And you said yes?" he asked her as if she was insane but with a grin on his face.

"Hey!" Mulder interjected quite hurt.

"I had my doubts, but let's face it, sir. I'm not gonna get any other offers", she joked with her former boss.

"Just pretend I'm invisible!" Mulder quipped.

"Nah, you know I love you", Scully told him and took his hand.

"Yeah. How could you not?!" he said and kissed her.

That's when Skinner knew for sure just how much they loved each other. He had been married once, but he had put his job before his wife. One of the greatest reasons for his divorce had been that they just didn't understand each other. Sure he had loved his wife. But not with such passion and understanding as the two standing before him. They were an extraordinary couple in a world only they knew to be more than what science told them it was.

THE END

* * *

_Thanks to all who have been reading this story. It has been really fun to write. Thanks for all of the great reviews – they mean the world to me! Hope you liked this last chapter as well.  
This is a link to Scully's engagement ring on my profile, if you wanna see it - it's really beautiful and made me think of her. _


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